


Ripples

by kitkatkaylie



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Divergence - Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Canon-Typical Violence, Depression, Families of Choice, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Padmé Amidala Lives, Post-Order 66, Satine Kryze Lives, Tatooine (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-09-17
Packaged: 2020-01-11 17:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18428417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatkaylie/pseuds/kitkatkaylie
Summary: Three small differences, three small events, ones that would normally not be notable, change the course of galactic history.





	1. Chapter 1

Three small changes; a concussion, an introduction, and a trip; inconsequential individually, but together they changed the fate of the Jedi and thus that of the galaxy.

The concussion belonged to the clone Commander Cody. Nothing about it seemed any different to the myriad of injuries accumulated over the course of a war and so at the time he was merely instructed to rest. It wasn’t the concussion itself that caused the change, no it was rather the impact that caused said concussion. The impact shifted the position of the, as then unknown, bio-chip in his head, something that would not be discovered until the end of the Clone Wars.

The introduction was that of Jedi Master Mace Windu to the owner of a diner on Coruscant. It was after a particularly gruelling Council session and he was dragged there by his friend and fellow Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to drown their irritation in fatty food. It became a regular occurrence for the two of them and the owner, a besalisk named Dex, was more than happy to help them find a few moments of peace among the stresses of the war. Later as Mace fell from the window of the Chancellor’s office, he was fortunate enough to land in the speeder of a regular patron of the diner, the speeder driver recognised him and took him to where he would be safe. He took Mace Windu to the curator of underworld contacts that was Dex.

The trip had a more obvious immediate impact, a mercenary belonging to the Mandalorian group Death Watch tripped whilst chasing after the escaping Duchess and her Jedi rescuer. This fall took down three of his fellows and gave the pair enough time to make it safely to their ship and escape the system. Needless to say, said mercenary died swiftly once Darth Maul found out about his part in the Jedi’s escape but by then the damage had been done. The respected pacifist and known Jedi sympathiser that was the Duchess of Mandalore had survived and reached the safety of her allies on Coruscant.

Some things did not change however, a Sith still formed an Empire from the ashes of the Republic, the Jedi Temple on Coruscant still fell to Vader’s blade, and Order 66 was still issued.

But it is small stones thrown that lead to large ripples, and small events that lead to galactic changes.

 

* * *

 

The first few plumes of smoke were rising from the towers of the Jedi Temple when Satine looked out of her window. It was something she had planned for, something she had hoped would not come. Her plans had been in place since the first vision her dear Ben had had on their flight from Sundari. His visions had saved them when he was but a padawan on that fateful mission and so when he had suddenly sat up talking about the screams of his family and the Temple on fire she had listened. She had planned.

It was her extremely organised staff who she sent to gather supplies suitable for all ages and species, who she sent to the levels around the Temple to collect any who managed to escape and direct them to her ship.

For herself she gathered the stashes of credits she had been taking out for months in advance in a variety of currencies, enough to enable a group to survive for a number of weeks. Still more she moved around in what was frankly illegal manoeuvres to a second account she had formed under a name she had taken whilst on the run as a teen.

Her final few acts were to pay all her staff their wages for the next year along with what could only be described as a hefty bonus, she would be unable to take them with her and could not leave them with nothing for they had served her well. She had written them all letters of recommendation in advance and these she now sent on to them as well as to the few senators she still trusted, they would hopefully prevent her staff from being without employment for too long.

A last-minute gather of any belongings she wished to keep that weren’t in her go-bag and then she left. She slipped out of her apartment and to the bay where she kept a second ship under a different name, it would be fool-hardy to take the one she officially owned, it could be tracked too easily and was not inconspicuous enough for what she needed.

The entire time Satine kept her special comm in easy reaching distance, it was linked only to one other comm that was currently in the possession of her Ben. If he had survived the decimation of his people that was how he would contact her.

It was chaos when she set foot on the ship, the air full of the cries of small children and a sense of bewildered loss. The people there had lost their home, their family and nearly all their belongings. Many of them had seen their friends cut down in front of them by people they had thought they could trust.

She pressed a final credit chit into the hands of her staff and told them to use it to get any stragglers, any other survivors of the Temple massacre, off world as soon as possible. With that done Satine wove through the traumatised Jedi on her ship swiftly, she needed to initiate take off before the presence of so many Force Sensitives was noticed.

It was only because of the practise she had at ignoring distractions that she was able to get them out of atmosphere as quickly as she could, taking advantage of the chaos and a smuggling route she had pried out of a drunk smuggler a number of weeks before.

Her destination was one she had discussed with Ben, one they had agreed would be their destination should it ever be needed. The neutral medical station of Polis Massa was perhaps not the first choice many would have used but it was relatively unknown and being a medical station was ideal for the treatment of the injuries they would likely bear should future events proceed as they had in the past. The two of them were pragmatic if little else.

An evasive course to their destination plugged into the nav computer and Satine was free to see to the guests on her ship. She was greeted by a succession of Jedi as she entered the hold, a Wookie covered in younglings; an elderly lady clutching a bag bulging with holocrons; a few knights all of whom had blaster burns on their tunics and a number of which were injured. Across the room she could see a Twi’lek and vaguely familiar Mon Calamari treating those with injuries and a few more knights and masters comforting children and rocking babies.

There were too few for what she knew of the Temple population, too few had escaped.

Satine gave directions to the galley, refresher and the berths to those that she passed, there were not enough bunks for everyone but they could make do. She made her way over to the two healers, they would appreciate knowing their destination and would likely appreciate being shown the rather small, but still functional, medical bay Satine had had installed on the ship when she first bought it.

It was the Twi’lek who peered up at her as she approached, “My Lady,” she bowed her head, “It seems we have you to thank for our rescue. I am Vokara Che, Chief Healer for the Coruscant Temple.”

Satine bowed to her as was appropriate, “Master Che, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I have heard a lot about you from Master Kenobi. I thought you would appreciate knowing that we are currently on course for the medical station at Polis Massa barring any communication I receive which tells us otherwise. I also thought you and your co-worker would appreciate being shown the med bay I have on this ship? It isn’t very large but should serve to make your healing somewhat easier.”

Master Che blinked at her for a few seconds, seemingly taking in what she had said. “That would be very much appreciated. Thank you, Duchess.” There was a pause before her lip quirked into a small smile, “And don’t believe half of what Obi-Wan Kenobi says about me, he thinks I’m the devil for making him stay in the Healing Halls and rest.”

There was a snort from the Mon Cal and Satine knew she should recognise her, knew she had seen her before in one of Ben’s holos, but couldn’t for the life of her remember a name.

“Indeed,” Satine inclined her head, “If you would follow me Master Healers, I will show you to the med bay and arrange for someone to bring you some refreshments.”

She led the pair, and their patients able to walk, to the med bay and settled them in. she was just about to find someone to bring those few patients unable to walk and someone with refreshment when her comm went off. Had it been her regular comm she likely would have ignored it but it wasn’t, it was her private secure comm and so she tucked herself to the side and answered it.

“Satine!” Her Ben looked a little worse for wear but he was alive!

“Ben,” She half sobbed into the comm, “I’m so glad you’re alive. I was so worried.”

“Sat’ika, you need to get away from Coruscant. The Chancellor is the Sith we were looking for, and,” Here his voice broke, “He turned Anakin.”

“ _Cyare_ , I’m away from Coruscant, do not worry. I left as soon as I saw the flames.” She reassured him, “I have some people here with me that I think you will be rather pleased to see.”

She turned as she spoke and walked back to the med bay, as she entered the room her Jedi was voicing his confusion over the comm. Confusion that soon stopped when the Mon Cal shrieked his name and ran forward to speak to him.

“I will pass you over to your friend Ob’ika, we are headed to our discussed rendezvous. I shall see you soon.”

Satine passed over the comm and let her Jedi become the councillor his betrayed family needed. They needed someone familiar to guide them, someone to reassure them that it wasn’t the end of the world despite how it might feel otherwise.

She herself made her way to the galley, she had a sudden need for a cup of caff. She also wanted to check whether or not the Jedi had done as she had instructed and helped themselves to the food there.

A wall of noise escaped the room as she palmed open the door, the excited chatter of children and the gentle rumbles of their caretaker. A small smile graced her face at the feeing of excitement, for all these children had just gone through something terrible they were too young to truly understand and so being on a spaceship was treated as a great adventure. It was as adorable a it was heart-breaking.

“Hello there younglings,” She greeted, sweeping into the room and towards the caff maker.

“Hello Duchess,” They chorused back, having been informed of her identity by their caretaker.

“Now dear-hearts, there is no need to call me that. Call me Satine, after all I’m sure we are going to be spending time together.” She smiled gently at them as she filled her mug, her smile increasing in strength at the wave of excitement her words provoked among the little ones.

The Wookie rumbled something at her and Satine had to shake her head in apology, “Apologies Master Jedi but I do not speak Shirywook.”

“He said ‘Thank you’.” A little tug on her top directed her attention down to a tiny Togruta youngling, “Thank you for the food and the help S’tine.”

The child looked at her with big eyes and held their arms up in the universal sign of children everywhere for wanting to be picked up.

“And what’s your name little one,” Satine cooed, acquiescing to the silent demand and picking up the child.

“I’m Asha! And your S’tine. And that’s Master Kua. And that’s Sola and Dav and Li and-” The child stopped to take a deep breath and Satine took advantage to bounce the child gently.

“Its very nice to meet you Asha. Now I need to check that we aren’t going the wrong way, so I’ll put you down with your friends and I’ll see you later.”

Satine placed the little girl down safely and gently patted her on the head before escaping, caff in hand, to the cockpit.

* * *

 

CC-2224 had had a headache since the call came through from the Chancellor. Since the TRAITOR-General-TRAITOR had been shot off the cliff face. For some reason he didn’t know he had changed the position of the cannon so that it didn’t hit the General-TRAITOR.

GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS

The headache increased in intensity as he arrived back on board the Negotiator, his feet taking him past what he knew to be his quarters to a set of rooms that he knew he shouldn’t be in. so why was he?

GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS

The scent of the rooms was familiar and CC-2224 was surprised to feel something wet running down his face. He raised a hand to wipe the wetness away and realised he was crying. Why was he crying?

GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORD-

NO! more wetness trickled down his face, and this time his hand came away red. The pain increased in intensity.

GOOD SOLDIERS FOL-

NO! CC-2224 flinched and reached out to put the brown fabric bundle he held on the bunk. It had belonged to the General-TRAITOR-General and CC-2-Cody made to fold it up like he always did so that it could be found easily by its owner. He hadn’t even realised he held it, it was now so automatic t gather it after the end of a battle.

GOOD- NO!

The pain disappeared as Cody returned to himself. The events of the past few hours were fuzzy, he could recall giving the general back his lightsabre, the di’kuut had dropped it yet again, and receiving a call from the Chancellor and then nothing. He checked the news feed on his comm and saw with horror the burning Jedi Temple, the reports of them as traitors, and the announcement of the Empire.

It was all wrong.

His general had survived, Cody knew that. He had had a brief moment of clarity when aiming the cannon and deliberately changed its trajectory so it missed. His general was like a damn cockroach anyway, there was no way he died in the fall.

And now Cody needed to find him and keep him from doing anything stupid without someone to watch his back.

He went through the quarters, secure in the knowledge that his general wouldn’t mind the breach of privacy and would likely be pleased to receive some of his belongings back. A change of clothes, the robe, the small toolkit he kept for lightsabre work, a datapad, and a smooth black stone that felt warm in his hand.

Cody didn’t dare to head back to his own bunk, he had nothing there anyway that he particularly cared for. Instead he went to the hanger, there would be a shuttle he could take and it was unlikely anyone would think to question him, the natural-borns not being near the hanger and the men not in the right mind to question anything if what Cody suspected was true.

He placed the bundle beside him on the seat in the shuttle he chose, it was one of the few capable of hyperspeed. It was the matter of moments to disable the tracker and change the codes of the ship so that it wouldn’t leave an easy trace for others to follow.

Cody did not have much of an idea of where to go, except for a conversation he had overheard a few years before between his general and the duchess of Mandalore. It was worth it as a place to start looking and something told him that it would be right.

He input the coordinates for Polis Massa and sped off, eager to return to his place at his General’s side.

* * *

 

There were a number of things that Yoda had not expected after his battle with Darth Sidious and to arrive at a little-known medical station to find members of his family that he had thought dead was almost top of that list.

That their presence was apparently due to the duchess of Mandalore? Well the fates must have a strange sense of humour.

For the saviour of so many of their children to be from a people that once hunted them was a strange occurrence indeed and made Yoda glad, now more than ever, that they had sent Qui-Gon Jinn and his padawan on that mission all those years ago.

He bore the fussing and ministrations of Master Che with grace borne of long practice, the healing he was given did help the ache in his bones and restored some of the strength he had feared gone for good. Now all he needed to do was wait, wait and hope that Obi-Wan had succeeded in defeating Vader.

Yoda had hated sending the man to kill his former padawan, but his words were truth. Kenobi would not have survived the battle with Sidious and an attempt needed to be made to cut off the heads of the beast before they got too strong.

There was limited time he could spend together with the remainders of his family, Sidious knew that he still lived and would be hunting for him. To kill the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order would be a kill that the Sith could brag about for years to come. He would need to exile himself to keep them safe, would need to cut all but the most emergency of contact with them to prevent the Sith from knowing they still lived.

They would all need to go into hiding now, to rebuild in the shadows until the fall of the Empire. Looking around at those that had survived Yoda knew it would be a daunting task, but one much less daunting than it had been before he had arrived at the station.

Once Obi-Wan arrived he would call all of them together to discuss what their next steps would be, the survival of the Jedi order was now a priority.


	2. Chapter 2

It was an exhausted and heart sore Obi-Wan Kenobi that stepped off of the ship belonging to Senator Amidala on Polis Massa. His clothes and hair were singed, he smelt of ash and in his arms was cradled the limp form of the woman his padawan had married.

Drawing from some hidden reserve of energy he managed to get her to the healers, to someone who knew what they were doing. It was difficult, the last dregs of the adrenaline he had been running on since the battle with Grievous had finally started to run out, and it was with relief that he placed her heavily pregnant body down onto a medical bed.

As a medic moved to change the senator out of her ashy clothes and into a medical gown Obi-Wan slipped out of the room and straight into the waiting arms of Bant, his best friend always knew when he needed comfort. He buried his face into her neck, breathing deeply as he endeavoured not to start bawling, he had to remain strong for at least a little longer. He took a final, fortifying breath and stepped back, pulling on his familiar mask that he adopted when he needed to be the Jedi Councillor.

It was just in time as moments later he was greeted by Yoda, by Bant, and by a Master Che who was very obviously checking him for injuries. He was relieved to see Bail accompanying them, there would be work to be done and they would likely require his influence.

“Master Che, Bant, if you could please check on Senator Amidala? I believe she may be in need of your help.” He asked before turning to the Grandmaster of the Order, “Master Yoda, it is good to see you, and you as well Bail.”

He turned around and was all but jumped on by a blur of blonde, “Ben!”

He wrapped his arms around her, “Satine!”

She pulled away from him and wrinkled her nose, “You smell… burned.”

He huffed out what could be taken for a laugh, “Well I was on Mustafar _cyare_.”

She looked at him with a questioning expression and he was about to elaborate when an alert came through the system.

They were being hailed by an army vessel.

 

* * *

 

The ship that landed in the hanger caused a panic among the Jedi in the medical station, it was a ship that obviously belonged to the GAR. They scattered, those able to fight moving to positions able to slow the path of any pursuer in the hope they would slow them enough to give the younglings and padawans a chance to escape.

Satine stood in the observation room attached to the medical suite Padme had been placed in. she would have little chance against trained soldiers but she might be able to buy a few seconds for the retreat. She didn’t know how they found them; they had hidden their trails so well.

But how was no matter, what mattered now was that the younglings were safe.

She listened out and was confused by the distinct lack of blaster fire. She had expected to hear it, expected a repeat of the Jedi Temple. She had expected to hear the blaster fire that would kill her foolish Jedi.

For her _di’kuut_ of a Jedi had demanded he be on the front lines, had said it was his duty.

Her comm went off, an alert on it that there was no threat. Normally she would have been suspicious but it contained the previously agreed on codes, it was genuine. She slunk out of the room, keeping her stun blaster at the ready, she wouldn’t lower her guard even if she had been told it was safe.

She found herself escorted by two Jedi, ones she vaguely recognised from their presence on her ship. She was thankful for their presence, they made her feel a lot safer.

To her immense surprise she entered the hanger to find Ben in an embrace with a clone in familiar armour. She waved her escort back and strode forward confidently, almost able to imagine the sweep of her skirts of state.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi!”  His back stiffened as she called out to him.

“Sat’ika its, well, you remember Cody?” He sounded very sheepish, like he had been caught doing something he was not supposed to.

“Your officer who aimed a cannon at you?” She responded with an arched eyebrow, “I remember.”

The flinch that both he and the clone did was… gratifying. If for different reasons for each of them.

“Commander Cody.”

The clone snapped to attention, responding to the commanding note in her voice.

“Keep your hands where I can see them, unhook your blaster and give it to Kenobi, then step into the centre of the hanger. And explain why you are here.”

She glared at Ben as he tried to protest, he would support her in this. Especially seeing as his self-preservation had apparently decreased once again.

He subsided and she watched as the clone obeyed her.

“Now, commander,” She all but sneered his title, “Tell me why you are here. And why you are without the rest of your army.”

The clone swallowed but began to answer in a clipped voice.

“There was a chip in my head. In the head of all the _vode_. The chancellor commed with orders that activated the chips. He ordered us all to fire on the Jedi, said they were traitors to the Republic. My chip must have been damaged, one of the hits I took to the head maybe, mine stopped working long enough to move the cannon so it only knocked the general off the cliff, so it didn’t hit him.” The clone paused and coughed and Satine was reminded that he was in battle only a short while ago. She unhooked her canteen from her belt and passed it to him, she might not trust him but she wasn’t needlessly cruel.

He thanked her and then continued with his story, she listened as he described his chip breaking down further, as he talked about its hold finally breaking when he entered his general’s quarters. It was an illuminating story and left gears turning in hear head, if the chip broke down in one clone, who was to say it hadn’t done so in others? Or that it would be impossible to reproduce?

The clone had finished his tale and everyone was looking at her to decide what would happen next.

“Commander, you said you came here to continue your protection of your general, that is an honourable goal. As such, you will be his responsibility. He is the one you have wronged and as such, he is the one to decide what to do with you.”

She steadfastly ignored the glare shot to her by Obi-Wan, she had a number of reasons for why the clone was now his responsibility, for one he was one of them in the best shape to watch over someone who wasn’t fully trusted, for another he needed someone to watch his back – a job the commander had been doing throughout the war. And her third reason, was that of kindness, the pair were obviously close, obviously friends, and this way their friendship could be protected.

She nodded at them and swept back out of the room, ready to stand vigil over Padme once more.

* * *

 

Cody did not move a muscle until the duchess had left the room, even out of her state outfits she still cut an imposing figure.

“Well that was unexpected.” His general said in such a dry tone that Cody couldn’t help but laugh. His general and the duchess deserved each other.

“General,” He turned and saluted only to be waved down.

“There’s no need for that Cody, considering we are both traitors to the Empire and a strong argument could be made for us both being deserters as well. Just call me ‘Obi-Wan’.”

Cody really didn’t think he would be able to do that, but it did remind him of one of the sillier reasons he was there.

“I uhh, have some of your things. From the Negotiator.” He muttered, looking away from his Jedi’s face.

He led the general into his ship and handed him the bundle, pretending not to see the tears welling up as he uncovered the stone.

“I know its not much, but… you don’t deserve to lose everything sir.” Cody said, with a sheepish tint to his voice.

“Thank you, Cody,” The general said through a voice thick with emotion, “Thank you.”

He wrapped his arms around Cody, and Cody attempted not to show how awkward he felt as he returned the favour. He tried to ignore how right it felt, holding his Jedi close, the general wasn’t his, he was in a relationship with the duchess. Besides who would ever want a clone?

The pair stood there for a few minutes, until the general’s comm went off. “I need to go to the healing rooms, somethings wrong with the senator.”

* * *

 

There was no physical reason for why Padme was dying, the med droids and healers were all very clear on that. For all her throat was bruised and labour early, these were things easily dealt with in the age of bacta. And yet she was still dying.

It was as though her very lifeforce was being drained.

As though she was part of a corrupted bond.

In another universe Obi-Wan Kenobi was too heartsore, in too much pain from having lost everything to realise this. But in this universe not all his family were dead, and so his mind was clearer.

He searched through her mind with a gentle touch, probing to see if his suspicions were accurate. It was with no little horror that he realised they were.

A bond, black with corruption, pulsed in her mind, drawing in energy the senator did not have to spare.

Obi-Wan steeled himself and whispered a soft apology to Padme before attacking it with all he had. He tried to ignore her screams of pain, the pain he was causing her, but it was difficult. 

The bond finally broke, after what felt like ages but couldn’t have been more than a few seconds, and the broken end writhed, searching for somewhere new to attach to.

Padme’s screams turned into whimpers as the broken bod withered and died. Obi-Wan withdrew from her mind, praying to all the little force gods that he had done enough, that he had done it quickly enough, to save her.

It was soon apparent that he hadn’t.

Padme was still leaking energy into the wound in her mind. There was only one way he knew of that would stop the bleeding of her soul, and for that he needed her full cooperation.

“Padme,” Obi-Wan said gently, stroking the hair back from her forehead, “The bond you had with Anakin was corrupted, and now, now your soul is bleeding. I can help you, give you a chance to live but you must agree.”

He received a pained smile in return, “What do you need to do?”

“If I can form an apprentice bond with you, I can staunch the bleed and give you some of my energy, but you must reach out to me to form it.”

“Very well Obi-Wan, how do I do that?” She rasped.

He reached out to her with the force as he answered her, “Can you feel my presence in your head? Now imagine extending a hand to it, very good, keep reaching… and its done.”

The bond formed surprisingly easily and Obi-Wan wasted no time in sending pulses of healing energy along it. It was energy he could ill-afford to give, exhausted as he was, but that did not matter. The senator deserved to live. Her children deserved their mother.

A few tense minutes passed, Obi-Wan oblivious to everything but the healing he was doing, but slowly Padme’s face regained some colour and lost its ghostly pallor.

She would live.

Almost as soon as Padme was stable Obi-Wan collapsed, he had given too much to remain conscious much longer and the last thing he saw before his eyes drifted closed was Satine cradling his head in her lap, her face bent over his with tears in her eyes.

 

* * *

 

Three figures stood and watched the two asleep in the healing room. An ancient Jedi master, a duchess in exile, and a senator, it sounded like the setup to a bad joke.

But a joke it most certainly was not.

“I must return to Coruscant to try and reduce the damage from that end. I cannot be away too long, those of us who were on the Delegation of 2000 are going to be watched carefully from now on.” Bail spoke up, breaking the silence.

“To Dagobah I will go looking for me the emperor will be. younglings I cannot teach, draw too much attention I will.” The green Jedi pronounced, looking every one of his near nine hundred years.

Satine swallowed, half expecting to be shot down, “I will travel with Padme and Obi-Wan, they’ll need help with the babies. The younglings can accompany us.”

Yoda looked at her with a gaze she could feel down to her bones, “Agree with you, I do. To Tatooine you will go. Remote it is, safe you will be.”

Satine was shocked, she hadn’t expected to be agreed with, but it did make sense. They could set up on the planet amongst the mountains in the wastes, it wold be almost impossible for them to be found there.

“Take the others as well, set up a base there among the wastes.” Bail said, placing a hand on her arm. “If I come across any other survivors of the purges, I’ll send them your way. I’ll give you as much help as I can spare, I should be able to direct one of Aldreaan’s mercy funds to help you.”

She bowed her head in thanks, it was more than she had hoped for. “We’ll leave then, as soon as it is safe for Padme to travel.”

The others turned to leave, no doubt to make their own arrangements but she had to pass on one last message.

“And Bail, the clones, they didn’t turn of their own free will. They had chips in their heads that forced them to betray the Jedi. Any you can save from the chips will be welcome with us on Tatooine.”


	3. Chapter 3

There was a fervent discussion as to who would be best suited to venture into the danger that was Mos Espa, those who were from an aquatic species were obviously not able to do so, they would stand out far too much. Similarly, those who were from a rarer species would not be safe among the known slavers of Tatooine, they would likely prove too tempting for those that traded in ‘exotic’ goods.

They had already discussed what they wanted; they hoped to gain two farms in the wastes, ones that they could join underground to make a compound for the safety of the others. One group had already left for Mos Eisley to purchase one, Master Che and the other Twi’lek members who had made it off of Coruscant had joined together, a Twi’lek family of refugees would not be too unusual, would not stand out enough to be notable to anyone on Tatooine.

It was the second ‘family’ that they were having trouble deciding on, whoever it was would need to change their name so people who already had alternate identities might be best. When this was combined with the fact that Satine needed to be one of them, so that her accounts could be accessed, and that it may be useful to include Padme as no one would suspect a family with new born children, well it was obvious really.

For all that they were less unusual out in the Outer Rim mixed species family were still not common enough to escape notice. They would all need to be human, and need to be familiar enough with each other to pass as a family.

“I am not shaving off my beard.”

Obi-Wan flinched at the glare Satine shot him, he knew he sounded ridiculous but it was another change on top of the many he had had to deal with over the past week and it was almost too much.

“Look general, you don’t need to shave off the whole thing, just enough that you don’t look like General Kenobi.” Cody tried to placate him, “And I’m sure no one will comment on it.”

Obi-Wan nodded reluctantly and allowed himself to be led off to the ‘fresher by his commander to remove one of his most defining features. There was a brief moment of mourning as he saw the hair fall into the sink, having decided to let Cody make the change, make the choice as to how his style changed. He had a momentarily feeling of shock when he looked in the mirror once Cody indicated he had finished, the commander had trimmed it down on the sides and shaped it around his mouth, it- it looked like the way Qui-Gon used to style his.

“I saw it in the holo you kept on your desk.” Cody said in response to his unasked question. “I thought you would appreciate it seeing as you had to change.”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan breathed, trying to contain the emotion he felt at those words and at the sight of style he hadn’t seen in nearly thirteen years.

He received a gentle smile in response and a parcel of clothing pressed into his hands, “Get changed sir, I’ll go and let the duchess know you’re nearly ready.”

Obi-Wan reluctantly changed out of his robes, despite them still being singed he did not want to pack away his uniform, it felt like giving in. The clothes he’d been handed had Satine’s fingerprints all over, they were similar to those he’d worn years before on Mandalore, ones suitable to fit in on any number of worlds, but they contained subtle hints of the blues of House Kryze. He shouldn’t have been surprised about the blues, for all that they were not exclusive it was her way of staking her claim.

As he returned to the cockpit of the ship, he was given an appraising look by the others in there.

“Are we ready to head into this… lovely town Master Kenobi?” Jocasta Nu asked him, her lip curling at the word ‘lovely’. She would be accompanying him in their hunt to find a property due to her proficiency at huttese and the apparent lack of danger an elderly woman conveyed.

“Ben, Madam Nu, if we are supposed to be family then you probably shouldn’t call me by my title.”

“Very well Ben. Call me Jo. I should react to it should it get called.” She inclined her head at him and Obi-Wan took a moment to take in just how different she looked when not garbed in the heavy robes of the Head Archivist.

“Speaking of that, we should determine the names each of us is going by and a backstory in case we are questioned.” Satine said, “I will be going by the same name I used years ago as it is the name my account is in, so I will be Sata Kenobi.”

Padme glanced at her, “Is it smart to use the name ‘Kenobi’? Would it not be an obvious sign to those looking for us?”

Obi-Wan smiled at her, “Its one of the most common names in the Outer Rim, there are already three other families in Mos Espa with that name. Noone will take any notice of it. Do you know what name you would like to go by Padme?”

She looked thoughtful for a moment and gently caressed the hair of the child she held in her arms. “Cordé. I’ll take the name Cordé.”

He nodded at her in acceptance of her choice, “We will tell you the details of our story when we return, some aspects might need to be changed depending on who we speak to. If there isn’t anything else then we should probably leave, the sooner we have a property the sooner everyone can leave the ship, I know some of the younglings in particular are getting rather stir crazy.”

There was a slight smile on the face of everyone, entertaining the younglings had become a job that everyone was involved with as time went on and their excitement at being on a ship had waned.

He offered his arm to Jocasta and the two left into the stifling heat and blinding light of Tatooine. They received notice only as two new comers would, and were almost instantly forgotten the moment they disappeared from peoples’ direct view. The pair wandered around the market, collecting a few small items that were needed by the others and some fresh produce, for all of them were rather sick of rations by that point.

It was just as the sun reached its zenith that they entered a cantina, both to get something to slake their thirst after being in the sun and to gain information on where would be best to purchase property.

The cool darkness was a relief to enter despite the numerous dangerous individuals sat around. Obi-Wan approached the bar while Jocasta looked for somewhere for them to sit, she was particular about it wanting to be away from the table of bounty hunters who might recognise them but close enough to the group of Weequay that the might overhear something useful.

Obi-Wan leaned at the bar, he kept an eye on Jocasta for while he knew she could defend herself he also knew it had been a while since she had used anything but a sabre. As the barkeep came over, he quietly ordered two glasses of water and a platter of mixed finger foods for them to share, he also asked where the best place would be for them to buy property. The bartender gave him a long look and said he would bring their food over, he made no mention of estate agents but Obi-Wan refused to be deterred.

He carried the two glasses of water over to Jocasta and sank gratefully into a seat before taking a sip of the cool liquid.

“I ordered us some food as well Jo,” He said, keeping his voice fairly low, but not enough to cause suspicion. “I figured we could do with a few moments of peace, I don’t know about you but the twins crying has kept me from anything approaching rest for the past few weeks.”

Jocasta smiled at him, “They are rather loud, but not quite as loud as Sola when told there isn’t any dessert.”

That prompted a small laugh out of him, “You shouldn’t badmouth your granddaughter like that Jo, she’d pout if she knew what you said.”

“Then you’d better not tell her, had you?”

He was stopped from responding by the bartender bringing them their food, he also pulled up a chair and sat at their table.

“So, yer looking for somewhere to live on this dustball.” The trandoshan ground out, “Can I ask how many there are of ya?”

Jocasta shot him a probing look, “There are eight of us, nine if my no-good son-in law shows up. Four children overall, including two new-borns.”

The trandoshan gave them a slow blink “I would suggest ya speak with Shin, he’ll set ya up with somewhere. Only guy on this rock with properties big enough for all’ve ya.”

Obi-Wan nodded, “Thank you,” he handed the bartender a handful of credits enough to cover the cost of the meal and to cover the information.

The trandoshan grunted his thanks and left Jocasta and Obi-Wan to eat.

They had almost finished their meal when the weequay started to make a large amount of noise as a new figure entered the cantina. A horrifyingly familiar figure.

“We need to leave. Now.” Obi-Wan hissed to Jocasta, who merely raised an eyebrow at him in response but packed up anyway.

It was too late.

“Do my eyes deceive me? Kenobi? What are you doing on Tatooine?” The figure called, swaggering over to their table.

“We were hoping to keep a low-profile Hondo.” Obi-Wan responded through gritted teeth.

“Ahh of course my friend. The great Hondo Ohnaka understands why you might not want to be found. I shall let you go. But we will speak later!” Hondo said, sitting down at the table of weequay and downing the drink in front of him.

Obi-Wan grabbed Jocasta and escaped the cantina before Hondo could say anything else, once back in the bright sunlight he let go of her and started to walk in the direction the bartender had indicated ‘Shin’ was in. He dutifully ignored the look of amusement on the archivist’s face, hoping she wouldn’t mention the interaction with Hondo.

“So, he seemed nice.” Jocasta said with a sly smile.

“Do you recall the time I was drugged by a pirate and chained to your old friend? Well he’s the pirate that drugged me.”

It took Jocasta a moment to work out what he meant but as soon as she did, she started to laugh almost hysterically, “The instance that Mace continued to refer to almost two years after it happened?”

Obi-wan just nodded, trying to retain some dignity, he had been teased by a number of his colleagues on the council for months after the whole story came out, and of his friends who knew, Vos in particular had never let him live it down.

It was with great relief then that they arrived at the store they had been directed to, it looked slightly less run down than others they had passed and that gave Obi-Wan the feeling that they likely worked for the Hutts.

They pushed open the door and entered the blessedly cool room, behind the counter was a thin looking male twi’lek dressed in rough tunics. It was with some horror that they realised he was likely a slave. There was nothing they could do to help the poor sentient, they needed the help of his master and they couldn’t draw attention to themselves.

Jocasta approached the man and started to speak to him in huttese, “Hello there, we’re looking to buy a moisture farm and were directed to you. Could you help us?”

The twi’lek looked up at them and responded in the same language, “Of course, where about were you hoping to purchase the property and how big do you need it?”

Obi-Wan could understand huttese but the accent with which he spoke it was atrocious and according to his former padawan had made it nearly impossible to understand.

He let Jocasta handle the description of what they wanted, he would step in if needed but she knew legalese far better than he did.

An overweight toydarian entered the main room, their wings fluttering like mad to keep them aloft. They immediately honed in on the discussion Jocasta was having with the twi’lek and moved over to them to join in, barking orders at the twi’lek as they did so.

Obi-Wan realised that this must be the ‘Shin’ they were told to find and, not liking the predatory look in his eyes, stepped up behind Jocasta, keeping his hand on the blaster displayed prominently at his hip.

“Ahh yes, we have a few properties like the one you look for. Take a look, take a look.” The toydarian drawled, loading up a few files on different properties.

Obi-Wan felt the Force nudge him towards one in particular, it was far in the Judland Wastes, almost directly at the foot of a mountain range and he land that came with it stretched a fair distance. Its price also didn’t seem too bad, certainly within their range what with the account Satine had told him the details for.

Even more so when the slicer Obi-Wan had put on to it had finished bouncing some of the Order’s funds to another, untraceable account. It was technically illegal but none of them particularly cared, considering they were all fugitives anyway.

He and Jocasta exchanged a quick look and he let his eyes flicker to the one the Force was prodding him to, she nodded in agreement and then started to haggle fiercely over it with the toydarian.

The two eventually agreed on a price and Obi-Wan was called forward to sign the papers and pay for it, his name being the one authorised to use the account. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Jocasta had managed to get the toydarian to include a couple of vaporators at no extra cost, they would need to buy some more eventually but they meant they could start to set up immediately.

It was with a grumble that they were handed the key codes, blueprints and directions to the farm and the pair left before they could be conned into purchasing anything else. There were still things they needed to buy, a speeder for one, but instead they headed back to the ship. It would be best for them to start to settle everyone in and inspect the property before buying anything more, else they forget anything important.

Obi-Wan had almost forgotten about Hondo, almost being the key word, when they were accosted by him just moments away from their ship.

“You go on and let everyone know what we’ve achieved Jo,” he said, gesturing for her to keep going, “I did promise Hondo a chat after all.”

“Now Kenobi, don’t sound so disheartened! It is only I, and I would never sell out such a dear friend… again.” Hondo sounded far too cheerful, and sober for a man Obi-Wan knew had been drinking for a least the past hour, but his words did surprisingly soothe Obi-Wan a little.

“I would appreciate it if we did not do this in public Hondo, its not in anyone’s best interests to know about me now is it?” He hissed.

The weequay pirate shrugged and led him onto a ship that stank to high heaven. It was obvious that cleaning was not a priority for the pirates, as shown by both the stench and the piles of bottles everywhere.

“Now then Kenobi, you have your privacy. So what brings a Jedi like you to Tatooine? And where is that brat of a padawan of yours? He hasn’t threatened me yet and I’m starting to worry about him.”

His explanation of the purges, of the Sith, of Vader, made the pirate pale. He wasn’t stupid, for all that was the impression her tried to convey, he knew just how bad the Sith would be for that galaxy. Just how bad a Sith he had once mildly humiliated in charge would be for his business.

“So tell me Kenobi. What can I do to help such a good friend of mine?” Hondo said, shocking Obi-Wan with the sincerity in his voice.

Or maybe not so surprising, Obi-Wan mused, Hondo Ohnaka had always been one of the more honourable criminals.

“We are going to need supplies, in amounts that would be noticed on this rock.” He started slowly, “And if you come across any survivors send them our way, this is where we are going to set up base. Of course, we shall pay you for all of this.”

“It is always a pleasure to do business with you my friend. Shall we return to your ship to write up a contract?” Hondo beamed at him and Obi-Wan felt himself reluctantly grinning back. It was nice to know not everything in the galaxy had changed.

 

* * *

 

Mace Windu had done a number of jobs in his time as a Jedi, from general to one rather memorable mission when he acted as a juggler, and none of them were quite as strange as the jobs he was currently doing for Dex.

He was grateful for the besalisk taking him in after he lost both his hands and fell out the window from the Sith Lord’s office but he wasn’t sure how he felt doing jobs that he would have chased down the perpetrators of just weeks before. His range was limited of course, he was a well-known face of the Jedi meaning he couldn’t really venture out in public and he was missing his hands which lowered his ability to do fine work quite significantly.

For the first few days he had been delirious, the blood loss combined with so many of his bonds breaking had left him with very little awareness of up from down let alone the state of the galaxy. When he had come to, when the room had stopped spinning every time he sat up, Dex had sat and told him just what had happened, just what his failure to kill Palpatine had wrought.

Depa was dead. He knew that, could still feel the raw edge where their bond had been. He reassured himself every so often by reaching out for the place where his bond with Caleb resided, his grand-padawan had survived, and that was more reassuring than he could put in words. It meant not all the Jedi were gone, he wasn’t the last one left.

Apparently Dex was waiting for something, the besalisk had been close mouthed about what exactly but Mace was pretty sure it was related to Kenobi. An unfortunate number of things that were barely legal were.

And while they were waiting for this mysterious thing Mace had been put to work. Transcribing messages, slicing holonet sites, and washing dishes. He was never quite sure what he would be doing each day and technically not even the washing dishes was legal as he certainly wasn’t on the payroll for the diner.

It was an interesting experience, that was for sure.

Made even more interesting when one day a face he had not expected to see showed up.

“Windu! Looking good for a dead man!” The infuriatingly bright tones of Quinlan Vos greeted him.

Mace knew that someone up there had it out for him, and he was pretty sure it was Qui-Gon, for him to be stuck in the back rooms of a diner with Quinlan Vos of all people.

“Vos. You aren’t dead. Shame.” He replied, not even looking up from the message he was decoding.

“Aww, you say that now but just you wait. Soon we’ll be the best of friends.” Vos replied, plopping himself down on the desk mace was trying to work from. “Obi-Wan’s still alive, or at least his bond hasn’t gone silent. And that duchess of his has gone missing. What’s the betting they’re ff trying to repopulate the Jedi order by themselves?”

Mace had always tried to be a good man; he didn’t know why the force was tormenting him in this way. He looked up, about to deliver a scathing retort, when he took in the entirety of the kiffar’s face.

“What in Sith hells happened to you Vos? You look like you lost a fight with a gundark.”

Vos’ face had a large burn across one cheek, his clothes were singed and half of his locs had been removed.

“I had a run in with Skywalker. The kid still hates me, I decided retreat down the sewers to be the best option. Especially ‘cause Skywalker is now bundled up in a life-support suit of some epically dramatic proportions.” Vos shrugged.

“Skywalker is still alive? How? Last I saw he was in Sidious’ office.”

Vos’ expression fell, he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but having this conversation. Like he didn’t want to be the one to break the news to Mace.

“Skywalker betrayed us all. He’s the one who led the attack on the Temple. He, well, he returned from Mustafar pretty badly hurt and the very next day a he bounty was released on Obi-Wan. So, I’d guess that he’s the reason Skywalker is in the suit. Amidala has gone missing as well, I think the official line is that she was kidnapped by the Jedi, same with the Duchess of Mandalore. Oh, and judging by the absolutely giant bounty put out, Yoda is alive as well.”

Mace let that sink in. He really wasn’t alone, there were others still out there.

And Skywalker… well it was a shock. They all knew Skywalker had hints of darkness in him, but then who of them didn’t? especially during the war. But for him to fall, to betray them? To lead an attack on their home which left no survivors. That was something no one had expected. Something no one had ever even thought was a possibility.

And it hurt. They had all believed in him, all trusted him. And he threw it away.

Mace had to cut off his train of thought at the sympathetic look on Vos’ face. Hell no, was he ever giving the kiffar bastard something to hold over him.

He’d become more insufferable than he already was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, this chapter starts to deal with Padme's reaction to the events of Anakin's betrayal and I've changed the tags to reflect this.

The house they had purchased turned out to be in a fair state of disrepair and was generally dirty. But it was private, it had working water vaporators, and it was at the foot of a mountain suitable for them to expand into.

Some of the Jedi with them would have to remain on the ship until that expansion could occur, they were not suited to being on such a dry planet and could quite quickly fall ill if they spent too long in the desert air.

For the others though, the chance to leave the ship was one they took to with enthusiasm. Many of the adults disembarked as quickly as their Jedi serenity allowed, the children had no such hang-ups. Padawans, initiates and younglings alike, all ran out into the sand yelling gleefully and savouring the fresh air.

Satine cradled little Luke to her chest. He was a comforting, grounding weight, one that helped her to remain in the moment and not dwell on the darkness spreading across the galaxy. Beside her Padme was holding Leia, the former senator was still weak but the lure of sunshine had drawn her out from her bed.

They stood in the shade left by the ship, not wanting to directly expose the infants to the harsh suns of Tatooine. Satine had already started to make a list of the supplies they might need for this venture to actually work.

She was distracted from her list making by the appearance of a rather dusty Jedi followed by his dutiful commander.

“Would you like to view our home for the foreseeable future my lady,” He bowed, offering his hand to her as though they were at a court dance. She took his hand with one of her own, adjusting the baby so he was cradled securely in one arm.

“I would be delighted sir Jedi.” She responded in the same overly-formal tone, noticing how it made the closest youngling giggle.

Next to her Padme took the hand she was offered by the commander, Satine was still a little uncertain about him but she could admit that he had been nothing but helpful and respectful since he had joined them.

And he was quite adept at making sure Obi-Wan was taking care of himself, something that was no mean feat. Especially as the man seemed intent on punishing himself for the Fall of his padawan.

She was led into the building and took a moment to savour the cooler air, as pleasant as it had been to be off the ship the heat had got to her very quickly. She half listened as Obi-Wan explained what needed to be done to the house, and their plans for how to extend it for everyone to fit in.

Her interest was piqued when she heard him mention sunlamps.

“What would we need sunlamps for? Surely there is more than enough sun on this planet?” She asked, smiling slightly in amusement.

“Because its common enough on desert worlds for people to grow thing underground in the cooler air.” Obi-Wan replied, “We saw it on Ryloth when we were on campaign there. And plant husbandry is one thing all Jedi are taught in the creche, it helps us with our earliest connection to the Force.”

Satine felt like she should have known both of those things, how often had her Ben managed to exchange help with plants for shelter when they were on the run after all? And it was a common practice on Mandalore as well, to grow things underground to help protect them from the solar radiation.

As they wandered through the rooms there were already a couple of the less injured knights and masters beginning to carve out a tunnel into the rock, following the Force for the best direction to dig to meet the tunnel the other contingent had already begun. Apparently, they were almost directly on the opposite side of the mountain that backed their house, and from what she had heard from discussions amongst the Jedi, they were already planning how to use the mountain to their advantage.

The tour complete, Satine went back to the ship and gathered both Master Nu and Knight Eerin to help her make a proper list of what they would need to get from Mos Espa and what they would need to order from the pirate Ben had made a deal with.

Medical supplies were a must, all of them agreed on that, they were all aware just how danger prone a Jedi could be. Tools of a range of sizes and functions, to help with the expansion and keep everything working as it should. Sith hells, they’d need more vaporators, especially if they were to grow their own food as well.

It was tough to decide what was a necessity and what could be picked up at a later date, what they could afford to get and what they might need to pass over to conserve funds. Satine had needed to do something similar before, after the civil war, but never quite in this much detail, never quite with so little support available from outside sources.

Master Nu was a godsend for this, she had been on the council before, she was an archivist, she knew what each species of their group required to remain healthy, what Jedi younglings and padawans required for their education. Knight Eerin was a medic and so knew exactly what those supplies were like and what would be needed by her patients in the near future as well as what was regularly used in the healing halls of the Temple.

They had offered for Padme to join them but she had declined, had headed back to her bunk on the ship, not even really noticing that Satine still had Luke and that Cody had taken Leia from her. One of the creche masters joined them when asked, a Zabrak who had been on duty in one of the baby rooms in the creche. He had a valuable insight into what the youngest of the Order would need, what they would need if their development wasn’t to be damaged.

He also had knowledge on which of the youngling clans had been out of the Temple when the assault had happened, those who had been on field trips to other Temples or sites of historical interest, those who were undergoing the Finding on Ilium.

It sparked hope in them all, that maybe more had survived the attacks than they had originally thought, that maybe they wouldn’t have to start from scratch. The discussion of the younglings seemed to spark something in Master Nu as she left abruptly, only to return minutes later with a holocron cradled in her hands.

“Amongst the others I liberated in our escape was this one, the one that is arguably the most important.” She said, placing it in the centre of the desk. “It’s the list of all known force sensitive children in the galaxy, those who were found too young for training and those whose parents wanted a few more years with.”

They all turned to look at her in shock, what she had done by removing that list from the Emperor’s reach was invaluable. Who knows what the emperor would have done with such a list, what the Sith would have done with access to such a large number of force sensitive infants?

She made a note to mention it to Obi-Wan, as the only member of the council he technically was the one in charge (something he would likely attempt to den of she ever pointed it out) and that meant that he was the one who would need to make the decision about what to do about the children. The younglings and initiates scattered across the galaxy, those who were already members of the order, they would need to collect and bring back to Tatooine – they couldn’t just abandon them after all! The others though, those who were just promised, that was another matter entirely, there was no evidence they were in danger and until there was there was no need to remove them from their homes. 

Perhaps some would manage to remain unaffected by the purges.

 

* * *

 

Ahsoka ducked into an alley as a stormtrooper platoon passed by, her own face stared at her from the wanted posters plastering the wall opposite. Her poster one of many bearing the faces of her family and friends. She hadn’t seen Skyguy’s face on any of the wanted posters and she hoped against all hope that he was alright, that he had survived the purges. That he was hidden somewhere with Senator Amidala.

The bounty under her name vastly lowered the number of people se could trust, even those who opposed the Empire could be tempted by such a large sum, especially on worlds that were still rebuilding.

She knew she was lucky, she had Rex with her, Rex who had never once let her down. Rex who hadn’t turned on her the way the rest of the 501st had, instead he had hidden her until it was safe for them to sneak away. Had stolen them supplies from the camp, had bargained with smugglers to get them off Mandalore. Had protected her.

They were trying to find information on why the others had turned on them, Rex was sure it had something to do with the chips that had been in their heads, the one he had had removed after Fives had yelled about their dangers to all and sundry.

They just needed to find proof, and to find the proof they needed access to the data on Kamino. Access to the cloners’ reports, to the Kaminoan databanks, to the original order if they could find it.

Which was why they were skulking around on Mirial, trying to find someone who could take them to Kamino or barring that a ship they could procure so as to fly there themselves. It was dangerous to go to the seat of the army, to a planet where she certainly would stand out, but the information was too important.

If they could find out about the chips, could find a way to shut them down, they would be removing the army of the Empire out from under the Emperors nose. Would be freeing Rex’s brothers from the servitude they had been forced into.

She had left their hide out to gather some more supplies, whilst she did not blend in with the natural population there was a significant population of traders and refugees that she fit in with. Rex, on the other hand, stood out. His face was well known all over the galaxy where the clones had fought, it was a danger especially on worlds which had garrisons of troopers stationed there, as Mirial did.

The troopers had disappeared into the next road and Ahsoka felt safe enough to leave the alley, she drew her hood up further so that her features were hidden and slunk back into the crowded streets.

There was a tension in the air, whispers of a rebellion, whispers of living Jedi, and worst of all whispers of the Emperor’s new enforcer, a tall figure clad in black wielding a red lightsabre.

A Sith serving the Emperor as his guard dog, one said to swoop down on any hint of a Jedi. It was the bogeyman of creche tales come to life.

The sound of armoured boots marching made its way down the street and Ahsoka made the decision to give up on her supply run, the Imperial presence was too strong in the part of the city. She would go back to their hide out and try again tomorrow, in a market further from the port.

* * *

 

Padme was tired.

She had been tired for weeks now, since Mustafar. Since her babies had been born.

She knew she should maybe feel some excitement for her children, she knew she had been excited about them before. But that was Before.

She should possibly care about her friends, those that had survived. Those that hadn’t been betrayed by her husband and the man who was her mentor. But she just couldn’t summon the energy.

And now she was just tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any particular jedi or clone you want to see in this then let me know in the notes and I'll see if I can include them.


	5. Chapter 5

Obi-Wan was worried about Padme, he could feel her presence in his head where Anakin’s used to sit before their bond was ripped out amongst the flames of Mustafar.

It was, well grey was the best word for it. Flat and dull and he could feel it impacting his own mood sometimes. And he wasn’t even sure that the others had noticed.

She put on a good act around the others, was able to act like her former self, like that unshakable queen she had been once. Before she had lost nearly everything she cared about.

She’d been betrayed by so many; her mentor and friend had turned his back on the ideals she had thought they had shared, had turned her husband away from his belief in the good of others; her husband had tried to kill her, had choked her and accused her of cheating on him; many of her friends and colleagues had cheered as everything she had worked on and believed in was destroyed.

He could understand why she was struggling so much; if he didn’t have Bant, Satine or Cody around him, if he didn’t have his purpose, then he could easily see himself in her shoes.

(Even now he still woke up calling out for Anakin to just _listen_. To not make that final jump.)

He didn’t know what he could do to help her, what he could do to alleviate the dull greyness in the back of his head. He was already helping with the twins, caring for them as though they were his own, despite his lack of experience in the matter.

Satine helped where she could, as did Cody, but Satine had been enlisted by the creche masters to help teach the initiates, and Cody had taken it upon himself to keep watch over the surrounding wastes, constantly alert for any danger that might hurt the Jedi.

The two creche masters who had survived offered support and advice when they could, but there were only two of them to care for two dozen traumatised children. Apart from Master Kua’s entire youngling clan, there were two initiates almost of age to be taken as padawans, and eight babes under two. Even those which were two young to have understood what was happening were sensitive to the pain that filled the force and the loss of the force signatures they were used to.

It was easier now that the compound had started to take shape, the children had been moved off the ships and into one of the first rooms built. The other few had had Bant and the Nautolan Knight Noal, who had already started to look healthier when away from the harsh sun.

It was another reason for why he was worried about Padme, when given the option to leave the ship she had declined. She had all but holed herself up in one of the tiny cabins on Satine’s ship, leaving only when prodded. She had claimed it was because she was so devoted to caring for her children but Obi-Wan could tell what she was feeling, and there was an undercurrent of fear whenever anyone moved around her or when the twins were out of her sight.

Obi-Wan decided that the moment they had a secure enough connection he would ask Bail to send Sabé to join them. Someone who Padme trusted, someone who Padme had a good, true friendship with, would hopefully help.

 

* * *

 

There had been a sudden influx in the number of messages Mace and Vos had been asked to decode, and Mace knew that it was likely this was what Dex had been waiting for. There was little chance they would remain at the diner much longer, with the newly christened ‘stormtroopers’ doing searches everywhere where past known Jedi sympathisers lived and worked.

And Dex was most certainly known as a Jedi sympathiser. His friendship with Ui-Gon and then Obi-Wan was well known by all his regular patrons, not to mention the Emperor’s new enforcer.

It was a comfort that no Jedi had been found in the search on Coruscant, their deaths would have been public had they been discovered.

A small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless.

It had been perhaps a week since Vos had shown up in all his infuriating glory and both of them were becoming stir crazy. They had barely got along before the destruction of the Jedi, Mace hated to admit it but in some aspects they were too similar to not clash, and now that they were stuck together in a small space, well, Dex was lucky there wasn’t blood on the walls. 

Thus, it was with great relief when Dex handed them new clothes and told them to prepare to leave, that someone was coming to collect them and smuggle them to a safe place.

The shock they felt when this ‘someone’ turned out to be a weequay pirate was… not insurmountable. Although it did explain why the outfits they had been given were a clash of colours and fabrics.

They were moved off of the planet in a shuttle that had see better days, by a route that even now Mace was mapping, noting down from a habit from when he was in a position to shut down smuggling routes. The shuttle boarded onto a ship that had also seen far better days and, from the stench, rarely -if ever- got cleaned.

“Master Windu!” He was greeted by a suspiciously familiar pirate when they disembarked the shuttle, “And you must be the infamous Vos! I have heard so much about you!”

The two Jedi exchanged glances; this was certainly unexpected.

“From where did you hear about me?” Vos ventured.

“Why, from my good friend of course!” The pirate laughed, “Kenobi always tells the best stories when drunk.”

They stared at him for a moment before it sunk in.

“Ohnaka.” Mace ground out, having finally realised who they were speaking to, “Please tell me you aren’t about to sell us to the Empire.”

“I have never been so insulted! I would never betray my friends the Jedi!” Ohnaka cried, waving his arms dramatically. Mace was beginning to see why the pirate and Kenobi got on so well, Kenobi seemed to have a thing for over emotional drama queens.

“You did it before.” Vos pointed out, reminding Mace why they never sent him on diplomatic mission.

Luckily it just made Ohnaka laugh, “That was to the separatists my friends, not the empire. The empire are bad for business with all their patrols, and they tried to kill my good friends! So, we are now on the same side!”

Mace could believe that Ohnaka was helping them because it was better business. It was far more believable than any emotional reason he could have given.

The ship lurched into hyperspace beneath their feet, it gave out an unpleasant whine and made a crunching noise that cause Mace to send a prayer to the force that this wasn’t how he went. It would be the most undignified end for a Jedi master who survived a war and a Sith lord, to die in an explosion on a poorly maintained and filthy pirate ship.

“Where are we going exactly?” Vos turned and asked the pirate who beamed as though it was the question he most wanted to answer.

“Why, Tatooine of course my friends! I am to deliver you straight into the hands of the most venerable duchess and Kenobi.”

Tatooine. Skywalker’s home planet. Of kriffing course.

* * *

 

Satine bounced the baby on her knee, little Roo-Roo did not like the dry air of the planet, despite the fact that it was cooler and slightly damper in the underground room they were currently in. it made sense though, Roo-Roo was a Gungan and so sensitive to the lack of water. Satine could still remember Obi-Wan’s bitching about the last time he was on Tatooine with a Gungan, apparently Jar-Jar had hated the planet as much as the being was capable of hate.

Napping in the stone cot off to the side were Wee and Zinn, they had wrapped around one another in their sleep in an adorable way. She volunteered to sit with the three babies whilst Master Shill dealt with the other babies who had all managed to come down with a bug and were under the supervision of Master Che.

They didn’t have the resources to care for the children the way they would have in the Temple but they had the knowledge and experience to more than make do.

The room she was in with the children was the second one that had been built by the team creating the underground compound, large and airy enough that it never felt claustrophobic, with cribs built into the wall for the babies to rest in. A lighting rig hung from the ceiling and she knew that one of the requests made to Hondo was for paint to make the room a bright and colourful environment for the children to grow in.

Already there were throws and cushions scattered around, liberated from her ship, from Padme’s old ship, and bought in Mos Espa. No toys as of yet, although she knew that some of the knights were trying their hand at making some in their spare time, whittling and knitting both being popular hobbies amongst the Jedi.

A sense of peace permeated the room, and Satine felt herself start to feel drowsy. On her lap Roo-Roo was obviously feeling the same way as she lifted her little fists and let out a huge yawn.

Of course, in the typical way of babies no sooner had Roo-Roo been tucked into a cot of her own than Wee blinked his huge, star filled eyes open and let out a thin wail of displeasure. Satine let out a soft curse as she moved to pick the tiny Rodian up.

“Hey there little one, why the sad noises hmm?” She cooed, rocking him in her arms. “There’s no need to cry _ik’aad,_ no troubles so big that they can’t be solved.”

The wailing stopped and he lifted one little hand to paw at the hair hanging over Satine’s shoulder, looking awed at the softness of it.

A noise at the entrance to the room had her turning and automatically reaching to the pocket where she kept her stun blaster. They may have been hidden on the planet but growing up in the midst of a civil war had left her with finely tuned instincts no matter her personal beliefs.

“It’s just me Sat’ika,” Her Ben said, stepping into the room. A strange expression crossed his face at the sight of her cradling an infant and it made her want to be able to see inside his head.

“I’ve never particularly wanted children of my own,” She started, “I was content with Bo-Katan and Korkie as my heirs, but looking after these darlings is almost enough to make me change my mind.”

“They are cute little buggers, aren’t they?” He agreed with a soft laugh, he moved to stand over the cot still containing Zinn and a sad gleam took hold in his eyes.

She could tell that he was thinking about how few of them there were left, what he could have changed to stop this hiding from being necessary. It was a loop she had found him falling into for as long as she had known him, worrying about things that had happened and obsessing over what he could have changed. It was the cause of his master’s favourite saying of “Live in the Moment.”

Not that Satine was any better, she had spent countless hours wondering where she had gone so wrong with her relationship with Bo-Katan that her sister had willingly joined a terrorist organisation that plotted against her rule. Even now she spent time thinking of what she could have done differently that might have prevented Maul from seizing her home from her.

“Yes, absolutely adorable.” She said in a decisive tone, “And its almost time for their afternoon feed, if you’d be so kind as to collect it Master Kenobi.”

She received an eyebrow raise in response to her imperious tone, “As you wish, my Duchess.” Obi-Wan bowed low and swept out of the room to gather the three bottles of formula, both of them pretending to not hear the scandalised whisper of a passing knight.

She did enjoy traumatising Jedi with her and Ben’s flirting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The little ones in this are from the Holocron Heist arc of the clone wars.


	6. Chapter 6

They’d been on Tatooine near two months and it was time for another supply run in Mos Espa, they were hoping they would be able to reduce them soon, once their crops began to grow properly. But for now, they needed to make the journey in every couple of weeks.

Obi-Wan and Satine were the ones who normally made the trip in, occasionally joined by Jocasta or Padme when they needed another set of hands or they were bored of the compound. Master Che and her group made excursions into Mos Eisely on a similar frequency which helped to conceal the amount of supplies they truly needed.

This time they took a couple of the younglings with them as well as Jocasta, little Sola had been begging to join the excursions as had Jen-Adill, and the younglings as a whole had been hoping for some more toys so it made sense to allow some of them along to pick some out. The presence of two small children helping make them look less like fugitives was merely a bonus.

“Now little ones, do you remember what you need to call us?” Obi-Wan asked, as he straightened the hat on Jen-Adill’s head.

She screwed up her face as she thought hard. “We call Miss Satine ‘Mummy’, you ‘Daddy’ and Master Jocasta ‘Grandma’?”

“Very good little one,” Satine praised as she tied off Sola’s braid. “And if you two manage to do that the whole time we’re there I will buy you both a treat.”

The two little girls bounced in place with expressions of great excitement on their faces at the thought of a treat. Bribery may not be the conventional way of dealing with Jedi younglings but it did get results.

“That includes not using the Force as well younglings. Remember no one can know we’re Jedi.” Obi-Wan cautioned, even as he lifted the two of them into the speeder.

Jocasta settled into the back with the two girls and began to quiz them on some of the fauna they had been learning about in their lessons with her. Satine shot Obi-Wan a fond smile as he sat in the driver’s seat and began to steer them through the wastes towards the city.

He may despise driving but he hated Satine’s even more. She flew like Anakin had, that was with a complete disregard for their own mortality and that of their passengers.

The moving air around the speeder kept them cool in the blazing heat of the desert, and Obi-Wan took a moment to enjoy it. For as spacious as the rooms they had started to build into the rock were, there was nothing quite like being out in the fresh air.

It was market day, meaning that there were a few children milling around, offering to watch any speeders for a few credits. Obi-Wan slipped a few more than they had asked for to the one who looked like they needed it the most.

As they had previously agreed they moved as a group to purchase that which they needed the most first. They headed to the shops that sold bulk supplies of food to the most outlying farms, those which could not travel in overly often. There they purchased sacks of grain, dried fish and meat, and assorted vegetables, alongside a crate of ration bars. When looked at in amazement by the shopkeeper they casually mentioned that they had others at home and some family visiting. To be fair, it was a larger order than they normally did, but with the illness in the creche Vokara had been unable to do the last trip to Mos Eisley.

It was a hardware store next, they needed wiring to direct power through the newest rooms built, and some of the vaporators needed replacement parts.

With those two jobs done they decided to split up a little to explore the market. Jocasta wanted to see if there were any educational materials available, Satine wanted to see if there was any information about what was going on in the Core, and Obi-Wan wanted to see if there were any parts suitable for lightsabres on offer.

The two initiates they had had almost outgrown their current blades and they couldn’t leave them defenceless so the parts for new hilts would need to be acquired soon. Obi-Wan was dreading for when someone needed a crystal, they could hardly go to Ilium to find one with the Jedi being hunted.

He browsed the stalls containing small mechanical parts, but only succeeded in finding a single power cell that would be suitable and nothing with which a hilt could be built. Sola had attached herself to him, even as Jen-Adill had attached herself to Satine.

After browsing a few minutes more unfruitfully he allowed himself to be dragged over to the single stall that sold children’s toys in the market.

“You and Sola may choose two each.” He said in a stern voice. Four new toys for the creche would cause great excitement among the singular clan of younglings, especially four that had been purchased instead of made.

The girls took great delight in picking the toys they wanted, and while they did so Satine slipped her arm around Obi-Wan’s waist. “I was thinking of taking them with me to pick up the fabric we need,” She said softly to him, “That way they can choose some patterned ones they would like to be made into clothes and decorate their room.”

Obi-Wan debated on protesting yet another change to the way younglings were traditionally raised but ultimately decided against it, if coloured outfits helped them to feel joy even after the destruction of their home then he wouldn’t say no.

With the children having decided on the toys they wished for Obi-Wan paid and let Satine take the two girls over to a stall piled high with bolts of cloth. He deftly avoided small talk with someone who looked like they were selling Spice and once again with a dealer of the homebrewed rotgut that Vokara Che would have his hide for even looking at.

A stall filled with delicate jellies sat in the shade of one of the cantinas around the square and Obi-Wan felt himself drawn to it. It would be far too expensive and difficult to transport to purchase one for each inhabitant of the compound but he knew someone who would love one, and he did have the piece of Japor wood he found while scouting around their home that he could trade.

He looked over at Satine who was wrangling the younglings by a booth selling bright cloth, allowing them to choose some to choose that which they’d prefer for their clothes to be made from. Jocasta was off haggling with a junk dealer for a set of educational datapads they had on display, meaning no one would be there to look on judgmentally as he made his purchase.

There was a greater variety on the stall than he had realised, so many of the fruits that he had missed since being on Tatooine were represented. So many of the desserts looked tempting.  He needed to find out how much the japor wood was worth to the stall keeper before he could make a decision though.

“See anything you like?” The stall owner, a pantoran woman, asked him.

“I see many things that I like, my lady,” Obi-Wan replied, turning on the charm, “I only hope that you are open to trade for one of your beautiful delicacies.”

The stall owner flushed a delicate shade of violet, “That depends on what you have to trade good ser.”

Obi-Wan procured the piece of japor wood from his pocket and held it out for her to view, “A piece of uncarved japor from the Judland Wastes.”

The pantoran’s eyes lit up with greed, “That is a mighty thing to trade indeed ser, for a piece that size you may gladly choose two of my delicacies to take away.”

Obi-Wan smiled, it was more than he had hoped for, there weren’t many who saw the value in japor the demand for it being niche. “Thank you, my lady.” He hovered over the display, contemplating his choice. “I’ll take the cassius tea one and the muja-fruit one please.”

The pantoran boxed up the two he had indicated then shot him a flirty smile, “Come back with any more japor you find and perhaps we could come to an arrangement ser.”

It was at that moment that Satine appeared by his elbow, “Darling, there you are. The girls wanted your opinion on whether to go for the blue floral cloth or the yellow floral cloth.”

Obi-Wan traded the japor for his now boxed up package and linked his arm with Satine’s, “Thank you ma’am,” He nodded at the stall holder and then allowed himself to be led over to the cloth merchant by Satine.

“You know, a lesser woman would be jealous of the way you flirted with that lady.” Satine said in a light tone.

“Well it’s a good thing no one could ever call you lesser my dear.” Obi-Wan responded in the same tone. “But I thank you for coming to my rescue.”

Jocasta was by the cloth stand with the two younglings, a wrapped package in her own arms, “I see your rescue operation was successful Sata.”

The cloth seller let out a laugh, “Aye, that pantoran looked like she wanted to eat you up lad.”

Obi-Wan was startled when Sola grabbed hold of his hand and licked it. “Why would she want to eat you? You don’t taste very nice.” She asked with innocent confusion in her tone.

He flushed and attempted to change the subject, “Does everyone have what they wanted? Its probably worth us starting to head back if we want to be home before sundown.”

Satine and Jocasta both smirked at his blatant subject change but nodded in agreement.

 “Not yet daddy!” Jen-Adill piped up, “We haven’t chosen which flower fabric we want yet!”

“Why don’t you go for the blue fabric hmm? That way you won’t blend into the sand.” Jocasta suggested much to Obi-Wan’s relief; he honestly didn’t have much of an opinion on colours.

The girls agreed and it was added to the fabrics they had chosen for the younglings, alongside the bolts of tan and brown linen for the rest of the compound. They managed to get everything back to the speeder without much hassle, and found their earlier orders waiting for them there.

Obi-Wan loaded the younglings back into the back of the speeder, where they were sat on sacks of supplies, when Satine clapped her hands and drew their attention.

“Seeing as you two have been very good today and I did promise you a treat if you were, I have something for you!” she reached over and handed out two small paper bags, one to each girl. There was a gas of delight as they opened them to find a handful of sweets.

“You big softy.” Obi-Wan murmured to Satine, even as he sat next to her in the speeder.

“Maybe so,” She agreed, “But I’m your big softy.”

 

* * *

 

Ahsoka thanked her lucky stars as she and Rex slipped through the Space Port on Mirial, it had been a stroke of luck to run into their pilot, one that she knew was sympathetic to the Jedi and one who she knew personally. They ducked past an Imperial Patrol, trying to blend in with the crowd of refugees heading to their transport. The refugees were never checked too carefully by the patrols, the xenophobia of the natural-born troopers preventing them from wanting to get too close to the largely non-human group.

Of course, they weren’t travelling with the refugees, their transport was far smaller than that.

As the patrol passed so they slipped out from among the throng they had hidden in, Ahsoka kept a keen eye out for their pilot, not that it should be difficult to spot them among the largely human population of the port.

A rumbling roar drew her attention and she looked over to a surprisingly large ship where she could just spot their pilot. Ahsoka all but dragged Rex over to it, she was anxious enough to leave she was willing to sacrifice some caution whereas he most decidedly was not.

She was suddenly wrapped up in long, hairy arms and she hugged back with enthusiasm.

“Chewbacca! Its so good to see you, thank you for this!” She said to him with more enthusiasm than she had felt in a long while.

The Wookie rumbled back the same sentiments and Ahsoka couldn’t help the glee she felt at the awed look on Rex’s face. He hadn’t been on there when she was collected from the Wookies after their run in with the Trandoshan Hunters, she didn’t think he’d ever quite believed her when she’d told him the story.

Chewbacca gained an alarmed look as another Imperial patrol started to make its way towards them. He quickly ushered them onto his ship and bustled, as much as a Wookie could bustle, to the cockpit in an attempt to take-off before the Imperials attempted an inspection.

The engine hummed to life around them and through a viewport Ahsoka could see wildly gesturing Imperials, trying to flag them to open the ship up for an inspection. A short grumble that Ahsoka didn’t entirely understand but got the tone of said what Chewbacca was thinking about that suggestion, and even if she hadn’t understood the tone the way they suddenly shot up and out of the planet’s atmosphere would have explained it.

The sudden atmospheric escape had her stumbling against Rex who caught her with a familiarity borne of long experience. For all she could perform graceful acrobatic manoeuvres even in the midst of battle, the simple act of take-off always left her stumbling.

Rex steadied her and helped her stand as the rumble of the engine indicated that they’d entered hyperspace. She could feel Rex relax beside her; hyperspace was safe from the Empire’s patrols.

With the course input and the checks done Chewbacca came back through to the corridor where Ahsoka and Rex were stood. He roared at them to follow him and led the two of them to a combined kitchenette and rec room, with a Dejarik board as a table.

Chewbacca questioned them as to why they wanted to head towards one of the Imperial strongholds instead of him just disappearing them into the forests of Kashyyyk or somewhere on the Outer Rim. Ahsoka translated for Rex and he turned to Chewbacca with a determined expression.

“We’re going to free my brothers.”

 

* * *

 

Cody did not like it when his Jedi went into Mos Espa without him, it was a hive of scum and villain and his Jedi could find trouble in a Nabooian hair salon. His Jedi had found trouble in a Nabooian Hair Salon.

He had just as little faith in the duchess, for someone who wasn’t a Jedi she had an acute sense for the dramatic. She was just as likely to exacerbate the situation as she was to diffuse it.

This combination meant that Cody was certainly not pouting whilst keeping a lookout, that he had not traded shifts on lookout with one of the knights so that he’d be the first to know when his _di’kuut_ of a Jedi made it back safely.

The first glint of the speeder on the horizon had him scrambling down the rockface to alert the others to help them move the supplies inside.

He stood in parade rest by the entrance waiting for the speeder to pull up, just because they were no longer operating under the same command structure it didn’t mean that he could just let go of the routines that had been part of his life for so long. It had taken him this long to stop saluting at the end of everything his Jedi said.

The younglings had crowded round as well, they were anxious to see their friends who had gone into the city. Cody found himself keeping an eye on them, he remembered the mischief cadets could get up to (he would never forget the time he watched over Rex’s batch).

There was much shrieking from all the little ones as they greeted ne another and saw the things they had been bought. Cody winced at the noise; it was almost worse than his _vod’s_ squeals when the water for the showers was cold.

A chuckle from the side of him had him turning from his watch over the Jedi cadets, to see his Jedi there. He gave him a quick look over for any bruising or swelling that he may have gained whilst in Mos Espa, to his great surprise there was none other than the usual slight reddening of his nose from the sun.  

His Jedi smiled at him and from behind his back produced a plate with a delicate jelly dessert. “I saw this in the market and thought you might like a treat Cody.”

Cody took the plate and peered at the purple dessert, it looked like one of the things that was served at the senate fundraisers he used to accompany his general to.

“Is there a reason for this treat sir?” Cody questioned carefully and pretended not to see the way Obi-Wan’s face fell slightly.

“It’s a gift Cody, I saw it and thought of you. Especially when I saw they had a muja-fruit one, I remember how you enjoyed it when we were at that fundraiser on Alderaan.”

“Well then, thank you sir.” Cody eventually settled on, not sure what the bloom of emotion he felt at that being remembered was.

“So that’s what you snuck off to buy Ben!” The duchess said, appearing behind them and causing Cody to stiffen. He had not heard her approach; he’d been too distracted and how was he supposed to protect his general if he was so unaware.

“Don’t pout Sat’ika, I got you one as well. Cassis tea as you haven’t had the opportunity to taste that since Mandalore.” The general said, producing another of the desserts. And now Cody was confused, what did it mean that his Jedi got him the same gift as he got his wife in all but name?

 

* * *

 

Bail Organa stood stoic faced as the Emperor made another proclamation that removed power from the senate even further, stood stoic faced as his esteemed colleagues cheered the reduction in their powers and yet another step away from democracy. The corruption was sickening and it took all his self-control not to yell at them for their stupidity.

From her pod Mon Mothma sent him a commiserating look, and as he glanced around, he could see his own expression mirrored on those left from the Delegation of Two Thousand. None of them were comfortable with the situation as it was, yet none of them were willing to risk their people for a moment of dissent. Already harsh penalties were being levied on Kashyyyk, officially for the ‘Obstruction of Imperial justice by aiding and abetting the Traitor Yoda’; unofficially everyone knew it was because the senator for the system had spoken up against the Empire.

One of the few things that kept Bail going, that prevented him from snapping, was the knowledge that he had a call with Breha planned for that evening.

As the farce of a session ended Bail left to return to his office, intent on attempting actual work that might help people for once. He was luck in his position as a Core senator, he had a greater sway than most in a system that favoured humans and Core worlds. He and Senator Bel Iblis had formed an agreement of sorts, they used their positions to try and help those without such a powerful position.

It didn’t work so well now of course; both were under watch by the emperor as both had been friends of the Jedi and spoken up against the war.

Bail made a mental note to mention the senator for Corellia in his next conversation with Obi-Wan, Garm Bel Iblis could be a valuable ally for the remains of the Jedi Order.

The revelation of Padme’s survival would likely bring others to their side, but they would have to be careful, should the wrong ears hear of her still living they could make life very difficult for his friend to remain hidden.

The deep, rasping breaths of the Emperor’s enforcer made Bail drag his thoughts to a different topic, he made himself think of Breha, of their search for a child. He was not sure whether Vader could read his thoughts and he did not want to find out by accidentally betraying his friends.

“Senator Organa.” The deep voice that sounded nothing like Anakin Skywalker once had rumbled at him from the door to his office.

“Lord Vader,” He inclined his head in a show of respect the child murdering son of a hutt did not deserve, “What brings you to my office today?”

“The Emperor requests your presence at the Celebration of the Jedi Destruction. It would be wise on your part to not decline his most gracious invitation.” The Sith placed his hand on his lightsabre hilt and Bail found himself idly wondering if it was the same blade that had led the attack on the Temple or whether it was another.

“I would be honoured to accept the Emperor’s invitation to the celebration Lord Vader, it will be a privilege to represent Alderaan at such an important event.” Bail answered, choosing his words with care, it would not do to voice his true thoughts to the Emperor’s attack dog just yet.

Vader turned to leave before turning back, “And Senator Organa? Should you know anything about Senator Amidala’s disappearance it would behove you to tell the investigation, we wouldn’t want you to be accused of collusion with the traitorous Jedi after all.”

As Vader left, Bail started to ponder over his parting remarks, he was unable to tell whether it was a warning or a threat. He would need to include it in his information packet for the Tatooine group for that week.

If anyone would be able to interpret that remark it would be Padme or Obi-Wan.


	7. Chapter 7

“Kenobi! I have brought you gifts!” Hondo called out as he descended the ramp of his ship.

Obi-Wan sighed, even as he plastered on a smile, it wasn’t that Hondo was difficult to deal with, more that he had been up all night with Luke who just wouldn’t stop crying and was too exhausted to really be able to deal with Hondo’s brand of enthusiasm.

“Hello Hondo,” He said, moving to greet the pirate, “Did you manage to get the humidifier parts we needed?”

The humidifier was an unknown piece of technology on Tatooine, deemed too great a waste of water to be viable for anyone to own. Even Jabba didn’t own one for all he was fond about ostentatious displays of wealth. That wasn’t why they needed one though, it was necessary for them to keep the aquatic species of Jedi healthy on the desert world, one that, no matter the apparent waste of water, was far less wasteful than a standing pool would be.

“Yes, yes Kenobi,” Hondo flapped his hands, “But that is not why I am here, the great Hondo Ohnaka has two special presents for you. Although you should be aware that one of them bites.”

“I do not!” A familiar voice yelled from inside the ship, and before Obi-Wan could even work out why it was the owner appeared at the top of the ramp.

“Quin,” He breathed, scarcely believing it.

“Hey Obi,” Quinlan said, sauntering down the ramp and pulling Obi-wan into a bear hug, “You shouldn’t believe anything that pirate says, he’s still annoyed I beat him at sabaac.”

“You cheated!” Hondo snapped back in a surprisingly friendly tone.

“So, did you!”

A weary sigh drew Obi-Wan’s attention back to the ship. “They’ve been like this the whole journey here from Coruscant. Why do you have such awful taste in friends Obi-Wan?” A dead man said as he descended the ramp.

“You’re looking rather sprightly for a dead man Mace.” Obi-Wan remarked.

“What can I say? I’m a hard man to kill.” Mace smirked in response, and Obi-Wan really wanted to punch him.

“Must be very hard to kill if you survived being thrown out of a window by a Sith Lord that left even Master Yoda injured.”

“Master Yoda is alive?” Mace breathed, and look of hope overtook his normally stoic features.

Obi-Wan smiled and reached out a hand, “More of us survived than the Empire is publicising, come, I’ll give you a tour of what we’re building here.”  The two walked off in the direction of the farmhouse, leaving the still bickering Quinlan and Hondo by the ship.

There was a shout from behind them as the pair of scoundrels realised they were being left behind.

“You’re welcome to join us, if you can stop bickering long enough.” Obi-Wan called over his shoulder.

There was the sound of a brief scuffle and a slightly dishevelled Quinlan appeared at his side, proudly wearing Hondo’s hat. Obi-Wan debated on making a comment on not losing them one of the few people in the galaxy willing to help them but decided that Hondo was a big boy who could stick up for himself if he wanted to.

“Thief! Bandit!” Hondo yelled as he determinedly did not run after them, instead he sauntered after them into the farmhouse that concealed the entrance to the compound.

“I’d ask you to keep the noise down as we move around please Hondo,” Obi-Wan said, glancing at the pirate, “We haven’t quite managed to soundproof the doors yet and its naptime for the little ones. If you wake them you get to deal with Master Kua’s wrath.”

“Hah! The great Hondo is not scared of any Jedi!”

Obi-Wan watched as the corner of Mace’s mouth lifted into a smirk, “Master Kua is a Wookie, Hondo.”

The weequay blanched and his voice and footsteps both noticeably lowered in volume.

“So Master Kua made it then?” Mace probed.

Obi-Wan led them to the communal kitchen and started to prepare them all a drink, wanting to busy his hands while he thought of what to say. When the drinks were made, he carried them over to one of the long tables and gestured for the others to sit on the rough benches.

“At the moment we have a handful of knights, two healers, two creche-masters, two archivists, the entirety of Master Kua’s clan, eight younglings and two initiates. We also have Senator Amidala and her two children, Duchess Satine and my commander.” It was a bleak description of their numbers, from an order of over ten thousand down to just a few dozen, the majority of whom hadn’t yet completed their training.

“I’ve heard rumours of others,” Quinlan offered when the silence got too heavy. “Some names on the top of wanted lists, those the ‘emperor’ wants gone.”

“And there are those we still have bonds with, not all the bonds have gone.” Mace offered.

Obi-Wan smiled weakly, “I know, but I haven’t been able to justify sending anyone out to find any survivors. The knights we have were all injured in the escape from the Temple and the others either haven’t seen combat since they were padawans or doing too important work to let leave.”

Hondo obviously felt that this was his moment to shine, “And that is why I, the great Hondo, have been looking for more of your friends. I have also sent word to my good friend Maz, she knows much and hears even more. Also, she might have had a thing with your Master Yoda at some point, I do not ask, I do not want to know.”

With that, frankly horrifying, revelation, they all hurriedly finished their drinks in the hopes of Hondo not dropping another bombshell on them.

“Right,” Obi-Wan said standing up, “I’m afraid we don’t have individual quarters for people just yet, we’re all camping out in what we hope will become a training room in the future. I’ll take you there and to see Master Che and then we can decide where to put you on the job rota. Quin, I’m afraid you are almost certainly going to be put on building duty but I’m sure you’ll enjoy the chance to destroy something. Mace, it will depend on what Vokara says, you might end up stuck on inventory with the others too injured for anything heavier. Hondo, Katooni was out with the banthas last I saw her if you want to hunt her down.”

The pirate saluted sarcastically and left the room, whistling a tune that sounded suspiciously like a cheesy pop hit from when Qui-Gon was a padawan.

Obi-Wan shook his head and led the other two to their makeshift medical bay, it was one of the few rooms they had painted, the white paint allowing them to keep it marginally cleaner than the bare wall had.

A gasp filled the air as they entered and a tearful Bant rushed over to them and into Quinlan’s open arms.

“I thought I’d never see you again you jerk.” She sobbed into his chest as Quin tried to soothe her.

Mace on the other hand, just stood there, looking awkward and slightly lonely at the reunion and Obi-Wan was suddenly reminded that very few of Mace’s creche-mates were on the wanted lists, that it was unlikely Mace would have such a reunion except for when he re-joins the force.

“Just what trouble have your brought into my domain this time Kenobi?” Vokara called from one of the side rooms.

“Trouble?” Obi-Wan gasped over-dramatically, “I have brought you the gift of willing victims to your tender mercies and this is how you repay me? By calling me trouble?”

“I never called you trou-” She emerged from the room and her word died out as she saw who he was with.

“Hello Vokara.” Mace said, waving his stump.

“Whilst I’m not surprised at the cockroaches you are with surviving,” She began in a pragmatic tone, “How the kriff are you alive Mace? You went off to arrest the Chancellor and the next thing we knew the Temple was under attack! We all thought you were dead!”

“The chancellor was the Sith Lord at the centre of the war, we were woefully unprepared and when Skywalker betrayed us, well, I was thrown out of the window and luckily managed to land in a speeder belonging to a disreputable friend of Master Kenobi’s. they hid me from the emperor long enough for them to reach out to Ohnaka, and now here we are.” Mace said in a surprisingly mild tone.

Master Che huffed and took a hold of Mace, “You’re coming with me for a check-up Master Windu. Bant, can you do Vos’ check-up please? It’s not often I get the two of you in my domain. Kenobi, there is a list on the side, can you take it to that pirate friend of yours, it’s the vaccine order for the younglings.”

Obi-wan scooped up the datapad and quite cheerfully left his friends to the tender mercies of the healers, he had things to arrange now they had two more mouths to feed and backs to clothe in addition to delivering Che’s order to Hondo.

It was good to have them back though.

 

* * *

 

Whilst in orbit around the watery world of Kamino Ahsoka sent out codes, old ones, secret ones, from before the start of the war that Master Obi-Wan had drilled into her head as being ones that a council member would always recognise as belonging to a Jedi who had been undercover.

He had said it was a way for her to contact him if she was in trouble once she had left the order, had even given her a signature that she did not recognise but looked to have been inactive for over a decade to sign her messages with, said it was one that others would have dismissed as a fluke in the system but that he would recognise and know.

It had been a comfort to her when she was out exploring the galaxy, had even been the way in which she had contacted them to gain help for the siege of Mandalore.

Most would call it a futile hope, that someone might recognise the codes on a planet that would have been one of the worst hit by Order 66. But some small feeling told Ahsoka that someone would pick it up.

A code bounced back at them, in the same format but with a different signature, a current signature. They sent back an acceptance and a vid feed opened up.

“Who the kriff is using Qui-Gon bloody Jinn’s codes?” The irate and familiar voice filtered through as the vid image cleared.

“Hi, Master Ti!” Ahsoka waved at the Togruta master.

Master Ti stared at her before putting her face in her hands, “I’m assuming Master Kenobi gave you those codes Little Huntress?”

“Yes, Master Ti,” Ahsoka agreed, “Can we come join you? We think we might have the same goal as you.”

The master looked a little suspicious, “Just who exactly is ‘we’ Little Huntress?”

Rex moved his face into the frame, and Mater Ti let out a fond sigh, “I should have known it would be your _cabur vod_. The pair of you are nearly as bad as Kenobi and Skywalker. I’ll send you my coordinates, send another message when you reach them and we’ll surface. Try not to attract too much Imperial attention Little Huntress.”

The vid feed cut out and Ahsoka couldn’t help the grin that overtook her face, she turned to Rex who smirked back at her.

“So, I’m your ‘guardian brother’ am I?” He questioned, making Ahsoka flush slightly.

“I think Wolffe called you it once? And Master Plo found it funny? I’m not really sure to be honest.” Ahsoka explained, even as Chewbacca laughed behind them.

The coordinates came through, and if Ahsoka wasn’t mistaken they were for a spot almost directly in the middle of Kamino’s largest ocean. Chewbacca flew the ship to that spot and they sent out another blast of the code to signal their arrival.

To Ahsoka’s surprise a large ship surfaced, one of the Kaminoan transports designed to carry thousands. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but she knew it wasn’t that.

A loading bay opened and their pilot deftly steered them inside, and almost as soon as they were in so the doors shut behind them and the ship started to sink beneath the waves.

The ramp of their ship lowered and Ahsoka carefully disembarked, alert in case it was an ambush. A step to her left was Rex as always although Chewbacca chose to remain on the ship, saying he did not want to be there for the tears that would be flowing.

In the hangar waiting for them were three people they had never thought they wold see again.

“It is good to see you Padawan Tano, Captain.” Master Ti said, bowing at the two of them.

Ahsoka bowed back, “Master Ti, thank you for letting us on board.”

Beside her Rex faltered a little as he took in just who was next to Master Ti.

“Fives? Echo?” He all but whispered, staring at the two of them with disbelief.

The two _vod_ grinned at him and cheekily saluted, “Aye aye Captain!”

Rex ignored any sembelence of protocol and rushed at the two of them, gathering them up in a huge hug.

Master Ti smiled at them and glided over to Ahsoka, she placed her hands on Ahsoka’s shoulders. “You’ve been so brave Little Huntress, but now you can take the time to rest. Come, I have a meal for you ready in my quarters and you can tell me your story while we eat.” She turned to lead Ahsoka further into the ship but paused, “And tell your pilot that he is more than welcome to make use of our facilities. Any friend of yours is a friend of ours.”

A roar from inside the ship assured Ahsoka that Chewbacca had heard Master Ti’s offer. And, with him sorted and Rex still tearfully reuniting with his _vod,_ she quite happily followed after the Jedi master.

They walked through brightly lit corridors, passed on occasion by clones of various ages, from toddlers to some from the very first batches. It looked like Master Ti had evacuated the whole of Tipioca City and sequestered them on her ship beneath the sea.

The master palmed open a door that was indistinguishable from the others in the corridor, except for the handmade sign decorated with blue stripes proudly proclaiming it to be ‘Mum’s room’.

Ahsoka smiled at the sign, something Master Ti must have noticed, “It was made for me by one of the cadets, they no longer do much warfare training, instead they have a curriculum much like the one from the creche.” She explained, gesturing for Ahsoka to enter a simple room, the walls adorned in more artwork that looked to have been made by cadets.

On a table in the corner two plates sat, covered in a warming lid and Ahsoka sat in one of the chairs gratefully. She pulled the lid off of her plate as Master Ti did her own, it was a fish dish that looked to be fresh.

“We don’t have any meat I’m afraid, but this fish is one that I’ve found to be a good replacement.”

Ahsoka grinned at Master Ti, “It smells really good,” She said with honesty, “I’ve been eating ration bars for the past year or so. I’d probably be happy to even eat insects like my master used to.”

Master Ti let out a tinkling laugh, “Ahh yes, the number of complaints we had to listen to from your grandmaster when Knight Skywalker ate bugs on a mission were always a memorable part of those reports. Now, tell me all about what you’ve been doing these past few months and why exactly you are on Kamino.”

 

* * *

 

The so called ‘celebration’ was incredibly distasteful, in Bail’s opinion. It made a mockery of the genocide of the Jedi, a genocide that had used their friends and the people they trusted as mindless weapons.

It was sickening.

But Bail couldn’t afford not to go, couldn’t afford to be seen disproving of the regime, not if he wanted to keep Alderaan safe.

The emperor was making a speech about the destructive and treasonous ways of the Jedi and it took much of Bail’s power to resist from crying out against it. Even more so when so many of the populace cheered it.

There were some in the crowd who watched with stony faces, some who booed when the others cheered. But they were few and far between. Many who disagreed kept it hidden for already rumours of those who had spoken up disappearing had begun to spread.

The people were scared, and a celebration for the destruction of those they had always trusted to protect them was underway.

The emperor must have reached the climax of his speech because instruments sounded and banners unfurled down the sides of the Temple. A Temple which had only just been cleared of the corpses of the children massacred inside it.

Bail swallowed the bile that rose in his throat at the sight of the Cog of the Empire in place of the Starbird of the Jedi Order. The cheers from the crowds and the salutes from the shiny blank armoured troops just made it worse.

The opening bars of the new anthem began to play and then suddenly, they stopped. A new song began, a lament for the dead sung at Jedi funerals.

The banners went up in flames, sparking screams from members of the crowd. The burned from the middle out, revealing once more the Starbird symbol. Only this time it was no longer in the traditional red, it was gold for vengeance in the customs of the Mandalorians. In the customs of the _Vod_.

The songs changed once more to the _Vode An_ , and a new symbol unfurled onto the stone behind the Emperor himself, the symbol being that of the GAR, only, it too was gold.

The emperor was rushed off the stage to safety by his guard, the cameras were ordered to be shut off. But it was too late. That damage was done. The live streaming and required showing of the ceremony meant that nearly everyone across the galaxy had just seen the declaration of vengeance upon the empire by the Jedi and the GAR.

Soldiers were sent to hunt down those that had caused the disruption but Bail knew it was unlikely they would ever catch anyone in the maze of the undercity.

When he was safely back at his apartment, with the bug blockers on he allowed himself to hum a few bars of the _Vode An_ and smile.

The ceremony hadn’t been so terrible after all. 


	8. Chapter 8

There was some of the information they had been searching for in the databanks of the ship, information on the training process, medical records and schematics for the chips. But no information on how to deactivate them, no specimens they could use to test methods on.

Those clones on the ship had had their deactivated by a burst of the Force from Master Ti as the order went out. It was a feat that Master Ti had no idea how exactly she had managed to complete, one it was completely unlikely she would be able to do again.

So they needed another way to deactivate the chips on a wide scale. One that wouldn’t harm the clones they were embedded in.

It was a daunting prospect, a feat that would have been made much easier with the assistance of a healer, someone who was confident in human physiology to a greater extent than the clone medics who had only really been trained in battlefield medicine.

Ahsoka’s head hurt from trying to gain access to the records of the Kaminoan’s without having to leave the safety of the ship. Unfortunately, with each passing day it looked less and less likely that it was going to occur, looked more and more like they were going to have to enter the city itself, a city with a ridiculously high Imperial presence.

It was worrying, Ahsoka did not want to lose anyone else, could hardly bear it should she lose Rex or Fives or Echo, not now after she’d found them again. Nor could she lose Master Ti, not after having lost her master and grandmaster and all her friends.

Idly she found herself wondering if Barriss had survived Order 66 in her prison, if she was no longer registered as a Jedi or whether she had been shot down by the guards. It was an unpleasant train of thought, for all she knew Barriss was dead and gone or still alive and hating her neither were conditions that were particularly nice to dwell upon.

“Commander?” Echo stood in the doorway to the room she had been using, “General Ti wants to see you.”

Ahsoka dragged herself out of the chair she was slumped in, “Thanks Echo. And please just call me Ahsoka, I haven’t been you commander for a while now.”

A small smirk graced Echo’s face, “I’m pretty sure you’ll always be our commander, Commander.”

She resisted the urge to push him, “Call me by my name or I’ll tell Rex about the time you and Fives dared me to eat a piece of fruit and I ended up in medical for two days.”

His eyes widened in horror, “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“You fight dirty Ahsoka.” Echo admitted defeat, causing a smirk to fill Ahsoka’s features.

She followed him out of the room to a loading bay where Master Ti was waiting on them. Rex was stood by her side, as was Chewbacca who had refused to leave them. He had stated that she was likely to get in trouble again should he leave her without a pilot to help her escape any situation she might find herself in. Ahsoka found she couldn’t protest his statement, had she even attempted she would have been shot down by Rex, Fives and Echo (despite the hypocrisy of the last two as they were just as bad if not worse than her).

“Padawan Tano, your captain here reports that you have been largely unsuccessful in your hunt for information on removal of the chips.” Master Ti said as they approached. “He says that you are planning on trying to enter one of the cities to see what you can discover there.

Her tone was perfectly polite, containing no hint of her feelings on the matter and it made Ahsoka bristle.

“I-” She began hotly, only to be cut off by a look she recognised from her time in the Temple. It was one all masters had, one that could be used to chastise without saying a single word.

“I agree with you Little Huntress, but it must be planned perfectly. As of now the Empire thinks that everyone upon this vessel apart from yourself and your companions are dead. I would not have war bought down on the heads of the little ones; they deserve the chance to grow in peace.”

Ahsoka recognised the wisdom in her words, “What would you have me do then master?”

Master Ti smiled gently, “I shall help you come up with a plan and then you shall help me find a sanctuary to raise the cadets in peace.”

 

* * *

 

Mace Windu would never admit to it out loud but he had a slight phobia of healing halls. Ever since he had spent six months in the halls as a padawan, the scent of them invoked the memory of the fear his master had felt and the fear he had felt trapped in the bed.

Now, nearly forty years on the fear was still present, even in a different set of halls entirely.

“We managed to find these in Mos Eisely Mace,” Vokara said, bustling into the room and breaking her former creche mate out of his thoughts. “They won’t fit as well as the ones we would have fit you with at the Temple but they’ll allow you to have hands again.”

 Mace managed a weak smile, “I’ll just be pleased to be able to dress myself again to be honest Vokara.”

She smiled back at him, an expression that would have shocked a number of her more infuriating patients. It was strange, they’d never been close growing up, but now that they were the only ones left from their age group, they clung together in a way similar to those who’d been friends for years had been doing.

“We input the neural interfaces last week so these should just, for lack of a better term, click on.” She said, holding out two skeletal looking, black metal hands.

Mace braced himself as one, then the other was clicked into place. A sharp pain shot up both his arms as the nerves connected and he found himself panting as it died down.

Vokara looked at him sympathetically, “For some the pain decreases over time, for others it doesn’t so I can’t offer you any promises there I’m afraid. Now, until we can get a synthskin covering for them you might want to wear gloves as you’ll need to be careful of getting debris caught in the mechanisms. Unfortunately, we are currently living on a sandy planet so you’ll need to be extra careful of this and clean them daily.”

Mace nodded; enough people he knew had had cybernetics for him to be aware of this, and the whole Temple had heard Skywalker’s complaints about his mech hand every time he was sent somewhere sandy.

“Good,” Vokara nodded, satisfied he’d taken in what she said, “You’ll also need to come by every day for at least a week so I can ensure the interfaces are working correctly. You will also need to undergo physiotherapy to get you used to the way they work and interact. Do you have any questions?”

Mace shook his head; he didn’t have anything to ask and he desperately wanted to leave the healing halls as quickly as he could.

“Thank you, Master Che, may the force be with you.”

“And with you Master Windu.”

 

* * *

 

“Quin, where did I go wrong?” Obi-Wan moaned, plopping down next to Quinlan in the mouth of one of the entrances to the compound built into the rockface.

“How much have you had to drink Obi?” Quinlan said in a concerned tone.

Obi-Wan had to think about it. “Three.”

“Three what?” And Quin sounded like he was laughing at him which was not nice.

“Three glugs.” And that was the lovely Bant’s voice. “He’s had three glugs of that rotgut that Hondo dropped off. He was celebrating the show of rebellion at the Emperor’s celebration and then became melancholy.”

Obi-Wan grinned as Bant reminded him that he still had more of the alcohol in his robe. “One for you and one for you and two for me!” he chanted, handing it out to his friends.

“Obi, I’m not sure this is the best thing for you to do. Master Che can’t just replace your liver anymore.” Bant said gently, trying to take the bottle away from him.

He clutched it to his chest and all but hissed at her, he deserved the drink, he’d been very good recently. “You didn’t answer me Quin. What did I do to make Ani, my sweet little Ani, turn against me?”

An arm was slung around his shoulders, “It’s not your fault Obi that your padawan decided to listen to that evil old nutsack. Would you have blamed me had Aayla fallen?”

“No,” He said slowly and then a thought occurred, “Oh Force Quin, is Aayla?”

The arm around his shoulders tightened, and he could here Quinlan’s voice crack, “She was always beside that Commander of hers, she fell in the first few minutes of the Order being given.”

Quinlan took a drink out of the bottle he was holding, and Obi-Wan raised his own in salute.

“To Aayla, wherever she is now she is likely watching us and shaking her head in despair at us.”

Quinlan and Bant echoed him and took a drag from their own bottles, Bant wincing at the fiery burn.

“Kit died before then, he went with Windu to face the Sith. Our bond hasn’t been strong for years but it breaking gave me the warning to start getting people out of the Temple.” Bant said, she raised her bottle, “To Kit, may he and Tahl be able to exchange stories of what a terror I was to train.”

“To Kit, may the Force never require him to wear a shirt again.” Quin echoed her, causing an inappropriate giggle to break out of Obi-Wan’s throat.

“They’re probably all stood there laughing at us,” Obi-Wan said, “Kit and Aayla and Tahl and Qui-Gon, and certainly Siri and Reeft.”

The three of them raised their bottles to their lost family and friends.

A hush fell across the three of them as they drank more of the rotgut.

Obi-Wan had nearly finished his bottle when he spoke up again, “I knew Ani wasn’t dead. I could feel it in here.” He clumsily tapped at his head, “I can still feel it. Ani’s sad and angry lots now.”

Quin, who had had nearly as much to drink, patted at his hair, “Don’ worry Obi, Ani’s always been a grump. He’ll come around.”

Bant, who was a spoilsport and had been filtering out the alcohol frowned, “What do you mean you can feel Anakin, Obi-Wan? Is your bond still in place?”

Obi-Wan whined a little, “Uhuh, we still got our bond ‘cause Ani doesn’t remember it. And and it has to stay ‘cause otherwise my head’s all empty.”

“We’ll need to have a talk about this Obi, when you’re a little more sober. Now shall I call your designated babysitter to come tuck you into bed?” Bant said, her voice turning into the sweet tone she normally used on the younglings.

Obi-Wan pouted, “S’tine said that she wouldn’t come pick me up. Said if I want to get drunk then I should have to stumble back by myself or curl up with Quin like tookas.”

“Ooh, cuddling sounds nice,” Quinlan piped up, pulling Obi-Wan against him even more. “I vote no babysitting, just tooka cuddling.”

There was a murmur off to the side but Obi-Wan paid no attention to it as Quinlan was stroking his hair in a soothing way. He returned the favour by lightly stroking one of Quinlan’s arms and was almost falling asleep with the hypnotic rhythm of it.

He was nearly asleep when strong arms reached around and picked him up. He whined a little at the loss of Quinlan’s warmth but happily snuggled into the offered chest.

“Did you have a good time general?” A familiar voice spoke above him and Obi-Wan cracked open an eye to see who it was. He was overjoyed to see it was Cody’s face above him, set in a fond expression.

“Cody!” He cried, flailing his arms so they curled around his commander. He turned a little and gasped, “I’m flying Cody! Cody I’m flying!”

His Cody smiled down at him, “You’re not flying Obi-Wan, I’m carrying you, see?”

He adjusted his arms a little and some part of Obi-Wan’s brain told him he was in the undignified position of a princess carry, but mostly he didn’t care. Cody’s arms were strong and warm and safe.

“ _Ni kar’taylir gar darasuum Cod’ika.”_ Obi-Wan muttered into Cody’s chest, his eyes closing as he was lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking movement provided by Cody’s steady footsteps.

“I love you too Ob’ika.” He could have dreamed being said softly into his hair by Cody.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so difficult to write! I'm still not fully happy with it so might end up making revisions later, but for now enjoy!

R2-D2 had seen many things in their time, they were old for a droid. Had served for the monarchy of Naboo before the invasion, had served the Queen-Senator until the Clone Wars and her marriage.

They had served her for longer than most. Been by her side longer than even Reckless-Jedi.

R2-D2 was very proud of that.

And now they had the honour of looking after the Queen-Senator’s children. Scream-Girl and Giggle-Boy were easy to look after, they were easily distracted by R2-D2’s projections. Of course the projections had to be kept appropriate, Sad-Jedi had been angry with them when they had shown projections of a battle.

Sometimes they showed projections to the Queen-Senator, they had recognised that she was not happy. So they showed her images of Naboo, of her family. They had tried showing projections of Reckless-Jedi once but that just made her even sadder.

R2-D2 thought they understood that, Reckless-Jedi had abandoned them all. Had tried to kill Sad-Jedi and Queen-Senator. Had betrayed R2-D2’s trust.

They decided that the next time they saw Reckless-Jedi they were going to shock him with their prod.

It would serve him right.

 

* * *

 

“You know I can’t condone that number of people going on a mission, that number of masters.” Mace said in a weary tone the Obi-Wan recognised. “Should something go wrong we would be down far too many people.”

Next to him Quinlan bristled, but Obi-Wan put a hand on his arm to quiet him. “I understand that Mace, really I do. Its why we hadn’t launched one before you arrived. We couldn’t lose everyone capable of defending the compound and passing on our knowledge. But now, we have more people, enough that the loss of three would not be so devastating.”

Bant squirmed on his other side, her empathetic abilities picking up the tension in the room despite their serene faces. Obi-Wan sent a wave of calm down his bond with her and watched her visibly settle.

“Mace, we desperately need more healers.” Obi-Wan said quietly, “Vokara is run off her feet, and while she has Bant’s help Bant is not a medic, she’s a Soul-Healer. Luminara is a Healer, one of the best.”

Mace’s face softened, “You will all have to be incredibly careful if you attempt this. I expect at least three people back no matter what happens.”

“Have you ever known us to not be careful Master Mace?” Quinlan joked, earning a glare from everyone in the room.

“We’ll listen out for any whispers of Padawan Dune as well Master Windu,” Bant said softly, “And if we can bring him back with us, we will.”

Obi-Wan felt a glimpse of hope fill Mace’s Force presence, despite it not being shown on his face.

“We’ll do whatever we can to bring him home Mace, I promise.” Obi-Wan said softly, stepping forwards and placing a reassuring hand on Mace’s arm.

“I thank you. Now go bring home our wayward Jedi. You have my backing and permission to take whatever is needed from our supplies to outfit you for your journey.”

Obi-Wan, Quinlan and Bant bowed, “May the force be with you.”

“And with you.”

 

* * *

 

Ahsoka stole through the bright corridors of Tipoca city, looking for a vent entrance she could use to gain access to cover to mask her presence. There was a strange mix of armour in use in the city, both the clone armour she was familiar with and another, newer set. None of it was decorated at all except for rank markings and the blankness made Ahsoka feel uncomfortable. There was no individualism amongst the troopers, nothing to suggest there were people under their blank coverings.

She could sense the same unease from those who had accompanied her, Rex, of course, as well as Fives and Echo, but also Caff and Posy who had been part of the 212th. They had been told to send out Qui-Gon’s codes once again should they need collecting, although part of their plan was to steal a ship. Two ships had a greater chance of escape than just one.

They had split as planned at the platform they had been deposited on, Posy, Caff and Echo to search the cells and med bay for anyone who needed to be spirited away. Fives and Rex to find a ship large enough for them and a contingent of cadets, and Ahsoka herself to hunt down any information from the labs.

She had been given master Ti’s access pass, they were hopeful that it still worked, that changing the access for a supposedly dead Jedi had been deemed low priority in the changeover in command. So far it had set off no alarms and had opened all the doors Ahsoka had needed, their gamble appeared to have paid off.

She was aiming for the main lab, if any information was to be found it would be in there, and yet it was likely the most populous lab, the most dangerous to sneak into. For all it was the night cycle, that didn’t always mean fewer personnel. Ahsoka could not let her guard down for even a moment.

The door to the main lab slid open at the wave of her access pass, no alarm sounded and the room was dark and empty. It was so much better than she had hoped for. She darted in and stopped in horror at the sight of so many data terminals, she had no idea of which might contain the information she sought, and it would take more time than she had to search them all.

A movement outside the door ahad Ahoka freezing and as it opened she darted behind a unit. She vaguely recognised the figure that entered from the delegation that had gone to the Temple at the start of the war, she and Barriss had hidden and watched them all go past.

Taun We, she thought the Kaminoan was called, did not look around the room, merely walked directly to one of the terminals and started talking aloud.

“It must be a complete glitch in the system the alert I received of the dead Jedi Master Ti making her way through the city, I shall just delete that from the system. No need to cause a panic after all. And I’m so forgetful recently, it would be so typical for me to lose my own pass in this room, just as typical as accidently leaving the records on this terminal open. I’m so really very forgetful, I do hope no one takes this information to the irate making enquiries of living Jedi.”

Ahsoka could barely believe what she was hearing, and true enough when Taun We left the room and data terminal was still on, with a set of records open and an access pass sitting innocently next to the keypad.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Ahsoka scanned the information and found it was exactly what she had hoped for: the information on the biochips and even some on the accelerated aging process. She copied it over onto a data chip and shut off the terminal, she had what she came for, no need to tempt fate any longer.

Now she needed to meet the others, they had to find that pirate Taun We had spoken of and Ahsoka had a sneaking suspicion she knew who it was.

 

* * *

 

They took Satine’s ship, its medical bay likely to be very useful and it’s worn exterior not notable. Not likely to be noticed among the many smuggling or trade ships throughout the outer rim.

Not likely to be noticed by pirates either.

They took with R2-D2 with them, the droid was bored with only routine maintenance to do around the compound and Obi-Wan knew out of all of them just how much damage that droid could do when he was bored.

He also knew how good the droid could be in a tight spot, provided he wanted to of course. The astromech was Anakin’s in so many ways.

Obi-Wan claimed the pilot’s seat for himself, he may despise flying but Quinlan’s was something he would never willingly subject himself to. “Where should we check first Bant?” He questioned, turning on the navicom and taking them off of the planet’s surface.

She closed her eyes and sank into the force, her empathetic gifts more able to read the bonds.

“Stygeon Prime, that’s where Lumi is, she, she’s in pain, but,” Bant flinched, “There, I lessened it somewhat, she knows that someone is coming for her but I daren’t give her anymore. Garen is just cold and hungry, he’s in no danger.”

The mon cala collapsed against her seat, her eyes flying wide open, “We need to hurry Obi, she’s weak, I don’t think she’ll last much longer.”

“Well then, let’s go break into the near impregnable fortress on Stygeon Prime to rescue our overly sarcastic friend from a gruesome death. Sounds like fun.” Obi-Wan said as he plugged the coordinates into the navicom.

Just as he was about to press the button to take them into hyperspace, he started to hear Quinlan whistle. “No Quin.”

“Yes Quin.”

He pressed the button and let the whine of the hyperdrive punctuate his statement, “No.”

“Yes.”

Obi-Wan sighed, this was going to be a long trip.


	10. Chapter 10

He had lost the battle against Quin’s whistling; they were treated to terribly out of tune renditions of half remembered songs from musicals and songs from when their masters had been young. It had been horrific. And amazingly enough helped to settle his nerves.

Which was probably Quinlan’s whole idea. The bastard.

He’d always played that role, the one to lighten the mood, just as Luminara had been the voice of reason, Bant the mediator, and he and Garen the ones to come up with the stupidest ideas.

Well, except the bath bombs in the ornamental fountain in the Temple main entrance, that had been all Quinlan.

They dropped out of hyperspace above the grey planet and set the scanners to alert them of any other ships on the planet’s surface whilst manoeuvring the ship so it was above the point at which The Spire resided.

The descended to the planet’s surface as soon as the scanners declared that nothing but the expected troop transports were in range. Troopers they could handle, hells, they might even get the chance to bring some of their men home.

For this attack they had decided to go the full intimidation route, wearing robes they had abandoned since going into hiding. The wrath of a Jedi still struck fear into many in the criminal underworld, and they hoped it would be the same for those troopers unlucky enough to come across one.

They still hoped to be able to get in relatively undetected, lest something happen to Luminara whilst they were on their way to her. They snuck in through the air vents, a weakness that was often exploitable and one that the clone troopers would have sealed were they acting under their own volition.

But they weren’t, and so the vents were unguarded.

Quinlan took the lead, he was better able at tracking force signatures over short distances, with Obi-wan at the rear of the three of them, listening out for danger in the flows of the force. They travelled through nearly a mile of ventilation before Quinlan stopped above an opening, and motioned for them to get ready to drop down.

He levered open the grating as quietly as possible, anxious not to make noise and alert any guards of their presence. He stuck his head down through the hole and checked to see if there was anyone there, judging by Quinlan dropping down to the floor and the lack of lightsabre ignition the coast was clear and so Bant and Obi-Wan followed him.

As they landed there was a gasp from the cell in behind them, Obi-Wan turned and met the wide eyes of Luminara.

“Hey, Lumi,” He drawled, “Lovely place you’ve got here. I have to say the spartan look is very in at the moment.”

“You think you’re so much funnier than you actually are Kenobi.” Quinlan muttered, as he tried to disable the energy barrier separating the cell from the corridor.

“I know exactly how hilarious I am Quin, and Lumi agrees with me.”

Luminara let out a startled giggle, and Obi-Wan allowed himself to smirk, that was what he had aimed for. For them to be so ridiculous Luminara would know they were real.

The energy barrier fell and Bant rushed in to the cell to check Luminara over. Quinlan moved back from the cell to keep an eye on the corridor, and Obi-Wan did the same for the other direction. They didn’t know if the barrier opening had set of an alarm and didn’t want to be caught unaware.

“Well Lumi,” Obi-Wan could hear Bant say behind him, “You’re bruised, two ribs are broken and I don’t like the look of that ankle but there’s nothing I can do about any of that until we get back to the ship.”

It was better than they’d hoped for, far, far better than they’d hope for. Especially after feeling her pain through their bonds.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a lightsabre for you Luminara,” Obi-Wan said, “We have a shortage of them at the moment. But we do have a blaster for you, despite them being incredibly uncivilised.”

He steadfastly ignored Quinlan’s mocking mutter of “uncivilised”, to acknowledge it would be to further an argument they’d been having for the past three decades, and as much as he enjoyed it now was not the time.

Luminara took the blaster he offered and looked it over, “This is standard GAR issue.”

“My commander and I thought it would be best if you had a blaster you were more familiar with, so he offered up his for you to borrow.”

“Despite the fact that the troops turned on us, why am I still not surprised that you and your commander are still together?” Luminara asked in a dry tone. Obi-Wan was unsure if he should be offended or not.

Bant sighed, “Don’t feel jealous Lumi, its only because his commander managed to get one too many concussions.”

“And that Obi here is danger prone enough that his commander forced his way through brainwashing to stop him from doing something stupid like becoming a hermit and hiding himself in a desert.” Quinlan added on, and Obi-Wan was definitely offended now.

“Hey,” He started to protest but was unable to continue when the sound of footsteps started to echo down the corridor.

“Everyone back into the vent.” Quinlan hissed, gesturing upwards.

Obi-Wan gestured for Bant and Luminara to go first as he stood next to Quinlan to help guard their ascent. Bant jumped up first and then helped Luminara, who gave a full-bodied wince when she landed in the vent, her battered body likely letting her know just how much it protested the movement.

Obi-Wan launched himself after them and Quin followed him so closely that they collided inside the vent but it worked, they hadn’t been seen.

The footsteps stopped below them and they all stood as still as they could, hardly daring to breathe.

“No sign of disturbance on C-floor,” The captain of the patrol began before his voice cracked slightly as he obviously turned and saw the empty cell. “The Jedi is gone. Repeat the Jedi is gone. Initiate lock down procedure.”

The last few words were barked into the comm and the feeling of panic filled the air, Quin smirked at Obi-Wan and he gained the feeling that something Mace wouldn’t approve of was about to happen. Then again mace never really approved of anything Vos did so what was new in the galaxy?

Obi-Wan gestured for Luminara and Bant to start to make their way back along the vents to the ship, he had some idea of what Quinlan’s plan would involve and it was best if those two were not part of it. Much to his surprise however Quinlan also bean to follow the other two back along the vent system, and so he too followed them.

It was more difficult finding their way back, they had no force presence to track, they had to rely on their own memories of the vents and more than once this resulted in them backtracking. It would be far easier if they could just go along the corridors, but the blaring alarms and the sounds of troops moving about under them scuppered that idea completely.

There was no way the four of them could fight their way through a base of this size, it just wasn’t feasible, Obi-Wan would have been loathe to attack somewhere of this size with the whole 212th and 501st at his back, let alone with just three others, one of which was weakened from her captivity.

They finally made their way to the out-of-the-way landing platform R2-D2 and their ship was on, only to see it surrounded by troops and a familiar looking commander.

Luminara flinched as she took in the full picture in front of them, Obi-Wan could only empathise, to see the darkened form of one’s fallen padawan was a truly horrible sight. For Luminara to be told that it was her own padawan who had been in charge of the prison she had been held in? well it couldn’t get much worse.

The four of them exited the vents, there was no where else they could go, and went into a defensive formation. Obi-Wan and Quinlan at the front as the strongest fighters, Luminara and Bant at the back. Luminara started to cover their move forward with blaster fire, drawing the attention of the troops and Barriss away from trying to get aboard their ship.

“So good to see you again masters,” Barriss sneered, “I do hope you enjoyed your view of the accommodations, as you will all be staying here for a very long time.”

Obi-Wan caught a brief glimpse of pain in Luminara’s normally serene expression before the mirialian spoke up with no hint of emotion in her voice, “You don’t need to do this Barriss, you can still come home with us.”

Her former padawan snarled and twirled her red bladed lightsabre, “There is no home now master.” Her voice softened, “Surrender now, join the empire and your life will be spared. Give up the Jedi, you don’t owe them your loyalty anymore.”

Obi-Wan didn’t need to turn to know that Luminara had shaken her head, she had always been the one who had believed in the Jedi Order the most out of their group.

Any hint of compassion on Barriss’ face disappeared as she gave the order for her troops to attack, Quinlan and Obi-Wan reacted almost instantly, deflecting blaster bolts back at the troopers with reflexes borne of long practice. The troops fell quickly, clutching at legs or arms, or else falling dead to the floor.

The fallen padawan snarled and leapt forwards into the fray, aiming for her former master. she was quickly intercepted by Quinlan who forced her back with a cheerful grin.

“Bant, Lumi, aim for the ship!” Obi-Wan called, trying to cover their dash for the safety of the ship, which was hopefully still manned by R2-D2.

As if the droid had bn listening for those words, the ships guns started to aim at the troops from behind, causing disruption among their attackers, disruption enough to allow Bant to board the ship.

Luminara however got distracted by the fight between Quinlan and Barriss, her face looking like she didn’t know who to be rooting for. Her face was serene as she opened herself up to the Force, looking for an opening, one she soon received. Quinlan caused Barriss to go on the defensive and leave an opening, an opening that Luminara swiftly took advantage of. Her blaster fired once and Barriss fell, her leg giving out with the force of the clean wound through it.

Quinlan took the opportunity to hit the padawan over the head with the hilt of his lightsabre, knocking her out cold. A glance at Luminara and he gathered up the Mirialian’s body and sprinted to the ship, grumbling audibly the whole while. Luminara followed him up the ramp and, seeing that there was no longer a need for him to cover his friends Obi-Wan also sprinted up into the ship.

He dashed into the cockpit to begin the ignition sequence, aided by a droid he was pretty sure was swearing loudly at them all. As they took off and left the atmosphere he was joined by a shaken looking Luminara, Bant and a grinning Quinlan.

They had stored Barriss’ unconscious body in a store room, the ship had no holding cells so they could only hope that the binders on her wrists and the compulsion prevented her from causing any trouble. Ideally, she would remain out until they had collected Garen and made their way back to Tattooine, but it would not be safe to keep her under for that long, they would need to feed her and give her water else they risked her expiring on the voyage.

“At least Garen can’t be any harder to find.” Quinlan said cheerfully as exited into the safety of hyperspace. There was a minute pause and then they all started throwing things at him for daring to tempt the force like that.

If anything went wrong on Illium Obi-Wan swore he would throw Quinlan into a Sarlaac pit.

 

* * *

 

 

There were some moments when Bail wished he could do as Satine and Padme had done and hide away from the Empire, having to explain to a distraught former handmaiden of Padme’s that she was actually alive was one of them. He was just praying that she didn’t start to cry, he had never been particularly good with tears.

“I thought she was dead! we all did!  We all but held a funeral for her!” Sabe sobbed, falling forwards into Bail’s chest, his prayers going unanswered as her tears started to soak his clothes. He awkwardly started to pat her back in an attempt at soothing the Nabooian.

It didn’t work very well.

“I can send you to her if you would like?” Bail offered desperately, “I’m sure she would appreciate your presence there and your help with the twins.”

Mentioning the twins had been a mistake, Bail realised that almost as soon as he said the words. The tears that had almost cleared up began again in earnest.

“I missed the birth of my godchildren!” Sabe wailed into his chest again, and Bail was reminded as to why he generally preferred male lovers – there was much less weeping.

The were a few more minutes of uncomfortable weeping before the former handmaiden picked herself up and dusted herself off with startling efficiency. Other than the tear tracks of her cheeks and slightly red eyes there was nothing in her posture to suggest she had been crying as she began to rapidly speak into her comm, making arrangements to leave the planet.

“I shall need two days before I am ready to leave Senator,” she said in her most professional voice, “Can you please ask my lady if there is anything necessary for me to bring, or anything she would like me to pick up whilst I am on Coruscant. I doubt she is hiding anywhere with adequate commercial areas. Similarly, if you would wish me to carry out any operations, I have sent you my records.”

Bail watched in slight awe as the lady swept out of his apartment, he didn’t know what sort of training those girls went through on Naboo but he thought he might insist on it should he ever have a daughter.

He shook himself out of his thoughts, he had a transport to arrange, he only hoped that the pirate didn’t attempt to charge him more again.

 

* * *

 

 

Ryloth had been one of the planets to suffer the most during the war, it had been the site of numerous campaigns and had suffered from the rampant corruption that had filled the senate, now it was struggling under the Imperials, scarcity of supplies and the latest batch of anti-core laws meant that rebuilding was progressing slowly. Yet the people of Ryloth still went around with a smile on their faces, they celebrated that they were still alive, and they tried their best to ignore the imperial presence on their world.

It was to this world that a figure wrapped in ill matched clothes appeared, a figure that furtively avoided all imperial presence, despite their profile better fitting in among the human imperials than the twi’lek locals. The locals ignored their presence, save for a few small kindnesses, food or water would be pressed into their hands with whispers of thanks, the figure not being entirely unrecognised among the people. Or perhaps the fact that they took the time to speak to them in their own language was what prompted these gifts.

They slowly made their way across the planet, catching lifts where they could, avoiding the patrols made by Imperials as much as possible, keeping their head down when avoidance was not possible. Every so often they would intervene if they saw a great injustice being performed, they would help fix homes destroyed by stormtroopers, carry a crying child back home if they were lost or assist with the planting of crops. Despite never showing their face the figure soon was recognised among the local population as someone who would help and so they received more help from the locals in response.

It was on the back of a farmer’s speeder that they finally reached their destination, a small village that was overlooked by the Imperial presence. A village that nonetheless had been a point of importance during the occupation of Ryloth during the war.

It was here that the figure finally revealed their face, it was one shared by millions across the galaxy and yet instantly recognised by a small orphan girl playing in front of her uncle’s home.

Time all but stopped for the figure and the girl as she rushed towards them, her spindly arms held out in the fashion of children everywhere asking to be picked up. As for the figure, their face split into a grin so wide it looked painful and they dropped to their knees to intercept the tiny green missile.

“Nerra!” The girl cried as she flung herself into the figure’s arms.

And the figure wrapped his, for the figure had revealed himself to be a male, his arms around her, hugging her closely to his chest. His face relaxed for the first time in a long time, the first time since Umbarra if the figure was honest with himself.

“Numa,” He responded in a voice rough with emotion, a voice that caused any who may have been worried by the sight of a clone in their village to relax. It was a voice that meant no harm to any of them, one that spoke of weariness and the wish to finally come home. One that spoke of the end of the owner’s long journey.


	11. Chapter 11

Sometimes Quinlan wondered what he had done to end up with such kind-hearted friends. Or saps as he called them to their faces. He loved his friends, yet sometimes wished he could whack them over the head to knock some sense into them all, they made incredibly stupid decisions sometimes.  He could understand why they only knocked out Offee, but to bring her on to the ship as well? That he did not understand, she would be a liability for as long as they had her.

Except that was what they had done for him wasn’t it? When he had fallen, they had been there to bring him back.  Of course, he hadn’t attempt to blow up the Temple and frame one of his closest friends for the bomb. He was perhaps slightly more redeemable than Padawan Offee.

He and Obi-Wan had been taking it in turns to guard the fallen Padawan, Luminara was still weak from her captivity and it was cruel to ask her to be around her hateful former padawan. Bant was caring for Luminara, trying to reduce the damage she had incurred while on Stygeon Prime. There wasn’t much that could be done with the very few medical resources they had, Bant was mostly trying to soothe the hurt in her mind.

Quinlan dragged himself out of galley when the alarm went off, it was his turn to take over the watch on Offee, the last one hopefully before they reached Ilum. Obi-Wan stood as he approached, putting his datapad away.

“I’ve spoken to Hondo about getting some humane Force Inhibitors for us to use on Barriss,” Obi-Wan greeted, “They should be at the compound by the time we get back with Garen.”

Quinlan nodded in acknowledgment, that would make life a little easier, although he was still unsure as to what they were going to do when they arrived to Ilum. He stepped to the side to allow Obi-Wan to pass, hoping that Obi-Wan would take the chance to rest for once.

He settled into the chair they had put by the door to the storage room where Offee was held, hoping that she wouldn’t do anything during this watch. Quinlan opened up his own datapad, Bail and Obi-Wan had asked him to look into who might have been behind the demonstration at the Emperor’s presentation, and whether or not the people behind it would be willing to work with them. Quinlan was pleased to have been asked to do so, it was nice to have a little normality in his life, to be able to use his skills productively.

He was slightly stumped though, the signature was similar to that of Aayla’s, but he knew she was dead. He had felt her life force leave, had felt their bond break. It was possible that it was someone she had trained, but who? She had never taken a padawan, had been too young before the war, and uncomfortable with dragging a child onto the battlefield with her.

He was dragged away from his work when there was a banging on the door behind him, Quinlan sighed and locked his work back down, it wouldn’t do to allow their prisoner a chance to glance at his classified work.

He opened the door and ducked the fist aiming for his face. He was rather disappointed with Offee, she tried the same thing every single time. A quick jab to her stomach and she fell backwards into the storage room, as she always did.

“Are you quite done?” Quinlan drawled, channelling Obi-Wan’s particular brand of derision.

The fallen padawan snarled at him, but settled down and did not try to attack again. It seemed she was slowly learning after the last few times left her unconscious once more.

“I want food,” Offee gritted out sullenly.

Quinlan smirked, “And I want the latest model of speeder but unfortunately the galaxy doesn’t work that way.” He took probably too much joy in tormenting her, but force damnit she had hurt Luminara, sweet gentle Luminara!

Another snarl was the only response from the mirialian, and Quinlan found himself idly wondering if the dark side made everyone lose their ability to articulate properly.

He was just about to comment something of the sort to Offee when Bant came hurrying in, “Obi-Wan wants you in the cockpit Quin, we’ve exited hyperspace.”

Quinlan nodded to her and raised an eyebrow questioningly, Bant took a deep breath and moved forwards. With an ease from years of sparring together, training together, learning together, they pounced.

Quinlan held Offee’s arms behind her back while Bant moved towards her head, she grabbed the padawan’s face between her hands and looked directly into her eyes.

“Sleep.” She commanded, with an intensity that would alarm anyone who only knew Bant in passing.

Offee’s eyes fluttered as she attempted to fight the suggestion but she eventually sagged in Quinlan’s hold as Bant pushed another wave of Force towards her. Quinlan laid her unconscious body down on the bed they had managed to put together for her.

“Come on then Bantling,” Quinlan attempted to inject some levity into his vice as they exited the room, “Lets go and play knights in shining armour for our dear friend.”

 

* * *

 

 

She could feel it the moment the ship had left the atmosphere, the void that surrounded her suddenly felt so much bigger. So much stronger.

It loomed like it would engulf her, and engulf her it did.

She no longer had the protection offered by the bond being nearby, no longer had the thin buffer between her and the grey of it all.

Her tiredness had faded into exhaustion and she could barely summon the energy to get up when her children cried. More often than not, to her great shame, Satine or one of the crèche masters would step in before she could wrench herself up.

The muffled whine of a ship made its way to her, the sound travelling through even the solid rock of the compound. It briefly piqued her interest but it was passing only. It wasn’t enough to convince her to leave the safety of her bed.

There was no rushing through the compound, no panic in the air, so some small part of her head told her there was no need to move.

The familiar boot-steps of Satine echoed down the corridor, undoubtedly to try and convince her to come and join them all for a meal, to sit out in the stars, to socialise. And then an unfamiliar sound, that of heels clicking down the corridor, with a frantic kind of pace.

That made her slightly more alert, the change in her routine since the ship had left, since she had been abandoned once more, the change making her wary. Change hadn’t been a good thing for the last few years.

The piece of cloth she was using in lieu of a door swing open with a familiar ferocity.

“Padme Amidala Naberrie!”

She must be dreaming, there was no way that voice was truly here. That voice was a remnant of her past, before He ruined everything. She hid herself to spare the disappointment if the owner of the voice wasn’t real. “I am talking to you Padme; don’t you dare hide your head under those covers.”

The blanket was pulled away from her face in a motion that had been familiar since she was fourteen. She looked up to meet eyes nearly as familiar as her own, eyes with tears in them just as her own vision blurred.

“Sabe?” She manages to croak out.

Her friend merely nodded and pulled her to her chest, smoothing her hair with a gentle hand and letting Padme soak her top with tears.

“Yes Padme, I’m here now. I’ll look after you now.” Her voice was so gentle, so kind and loving that Padme felt even more tears fill her eyes.

She had missed this so much, missed the comfort and the scent that was pure Sabe. They had been inseparable for nearly two decades, and Sabe had been one of the people she had missed the most while in her self-imposed exile on Tatooine. And now Sabe was here, on this planet, with her.

She took a deep breath, taking in the scent of home that cling to Sabe, and finally her mind relaxed, the grey receded somewhat.

 

* * *

 

 

Ilum was always damned cold, Obi-Wan had somehow managed to forget exactly how cold since he came here as an initiate. He wasn’t sure how he had forgotten; it was the sort of cold that pierced your skin like knives.

He was slightly amazed that there didn’t appear to be much of an Imperial presence yet on the world, it was an obvious place for Jedi to have fled to. Perhaps the war hadn’t ended quite as smoothly as the Imperial reports made it out to have done, or perhaps the location hadn’t yet been betrayed by those who had joined Sidious.

A futile hope maybe, but Obi-Wan desperately wanted to believe that there was still good in them. That there was still good in Anakin.

Bant had been able to direct them to the entrance to the cave system closest to where Garen’s force signature was. It was an out-of-the-way entrance, one nearly as far from Ilum’s Temple as you could get.

The crystals whined at them from the walls, a jarring sort of tinkling that prodded the beginning of a headache. The caves were ever so slightly warmer than the outside of the planet, but not by much. There wasn’t a lot of light, only what little filtered in from the surface and reflected off of the crystals.

_“Padawan…”_

Obi-Wan stiffened, he could have sworn that he heard something, but no one else had reacted as if they had. Perhaps it was wind from the blizzard outside, slipping through the cracks of the rock.

He continued forwards, following after Bant who was trying to track Garen through the bond they shared.

_“Obi-Wan…”_

His head snapped to the side, “Did you hear that?”

Luminara looked at him with concern, “Hear what Obi?”

Obi-Wan shook his head, “I thought I heard someone call my name.”

Bant and Quinlan turned to him at that, “Obi-Wan, we haven’t heard anything. Have you managed to have any sleep in the last week?”

“Maybe not as much as I should, but have any of us?”

His friends were prevented from answering by a formation of crystal in front of them suddenly lighting up with a brightness that filled the cave. They each blinked away the stars from their eyes caused by the change in light and were stunned to see a familiar figure in front of them.

“Master?” Obi-Wan breathed with a sort of desperate hope in his voice.

For that was who the apparition appeared to be, Qui-Gon Jinn looking as he did the day he died, only rather more transparent.

“ _Padawan. You did as I asked I see, and yet the Chosen One failed. No doubt down to your attempt at training.”_

Obi-Wan flinched, that hadn’t been at all what he had been expecting from reuniting with his master after so long. By his side, Quinlan’s hand curled into a fist and Bant gained a horrified expression.

“ _I told you to train the boy Obi-Wan, and yet, you failed. Because of your failure the galaxy has fallen into chaos.”_ The apparition said, in that tone of disappointment that made Obi-Wan feel fifteen again.

“No.” Quinlan snapped, “You don’t get to do this again. You don’t get to act all high and mighty when during the last days you spent with him, you ignored and passed over him for a child you found that happened to have a high midichlorian count.”

“ _I don’t need to answer to you Vos.”_ Qui-Gon scoffed “ _This conversation is between myself and my padawan. Obi-Wan, answer me, do you think Anakin can still be saved, do you think he can still be the chosen one despite your teaching?”_

Obi-Wan looked frantically between his friends and the apparition in the shape of his master, he did not know how to respond. He wanted to believe Anakin was redeemable, wanted to believe that he boy he raised would turn away from the dark. And yet, every time he looked at the bond he still shared with Anakin he felt as though he had been doused in ice water, as though there was no light left in the galaxy.

“Oh, leave him the kriff alone, you old prune.” Quinlan said, pulling Obi-Wan behind him. Seeing the disdainful expression on his former master’s face, something inside Obi-Wan snapped.

“It’s ok Quin,” Obi-Wan placed a hand on his friend’s arm, “I know I did my best with Anakin. And a ghost with the shape of my old master will not take that from me.” He stepped forward, out of the comforting shadow of his friends, and shot a stern glare at the pillar of crystal in front of him from which the ghost was emanating. “I have done things I am not proud of, but training Anakin is not one of those. I have always aimed to help the galaxy and you are dead and gone and have no impact any more. I shall always be thankful for your teachings master but I am my own person.”

The apparition faded with a breath of cool air, leaving behind the crystalline structure lit up only by a thin shaft of light from the ceiling.

Or well, mostly lit up by that shaft of light. A trio of crystals shone brighter than the rest, seemingly lot from within, and when Obi-Wan oved forward to grab them they were strangely warm in his palm.

Stranger still was the feeling they were not meant for him, that they were merely in his custody until their true owners could come forwards.

“Was that all just a test?” Luminara whispered quietly, gazing at Obi-Wan with concern in her eyes.

At the sound of her voice one of the crystals began to pulse, reacting to her presence. It looked like he had found the owner of the first crystal, the other two still remained a mystery to him at that moment though.

“I think this might be yours Lumi,” He said, passing it over, watching in some awe as the light it emitted took on a greenish tint.

“Oh!” She startled, looking down at the crystal with tears in her eyes, “I’d all but given up on having one of these again.”

“I hate to interrupt this moment,” Quinlan interrupted, not sounding particularly sorry at all, “But the sooner we get off this rock the better and we still haven’t found Garen yet.”

Obi-Wan exchanged a commiserating glance with Bant, as blunt as Quinlan was, he was right. They did still need to find their friend who was hopefully still in one piece.

Bant led them onwards once more, deeper into the cave system, following the trace in their bond.

 

* * *

 

 

Ahsoka was uncertain about the place Chewbacca had taken her to, while pretty from space, up close it looked like one of the types of places her master had told her to avoid unless absolutely necessary. The buildings were hung with bright swathes of material and a huge statue stood in the centre of the courtyard; a statue Chewbacca informed her was of their host.

She pulled her hood up over her head as she spotted a few familiar faces among the crowd in the courtyard. There were numerous bounty hunters here that she had run into during the war and she had no desire to be turned into the empire for the sizable bounty on her head.

Chewbacca led her into the main hall, a bar that was surprisingly clean and with patrons that were oddly well-behaved. Behind her she could glimpse Rex and Fives grasping at their blasters, on edge and wary of the new place, Echo merely placed a possessive looking hand on her back and glared at any patrons that were trying to look too closely at her.

“Chewbacca!” A short, orange humanoid called out, spreading her arms in greeting, “Have you reconsidered my offer?”

Chewbacca grumbled something and looked slightly sheepish and Ahsoka decided she didn’t particularly care to translate what exactly it was that he said. He looked somewhat embarrassed, as though if he wasn’t covered in hair he would be blushing like Skyguy had the time he accidentally walked in on Kix and Jesse snogging in the med-bay.

“My Lady,” Ahsoka began, but she was cut off before she could say anymore by a bark of laughter from the being.

“I am no lady little one, my name is Maz Kanata.” Her voice softened as she guided them to a table away from some of the other guests, “And for a friend of Chewbacca and a member of that troll’s lineage, I insist you call me Maz.”

Ahsoka startled at that, it sounded like Maz knew who she was.

“You are safe here young one, don’t you worry about that. The empire would happily destroy everything I have built here and so I have insisted this is a safe place for all. No bounties are allowed to be taken here unless the one who breaks my rule wishes to be hunted down themselves.”

That was reassuring, as was the cup placed in front of her filled with a rich broth. Ahsoka guzzled it down hungrily, it had been so long since she’d had even the trace of meat in her diet.

“We’re hoping for information on others like us,” Ahsoka said when she finished her drink, “We were told you might know someone who does.”

Maz looked at her intently, placing her hands on Ahsoka’s cheeks and pulled her goggles down over her eyes, magnifying them massively. “Your eyes contain a lot of pain young one, you have suffered a lot these past few years. Don’t worry though, you haven’t lost as much as you think. Things are in motion now that cannot be undone, but a brighter galaxy sits at the end of it.”

Ahsoka could see Fives nudge Echo with a smirk on his face, he never had taken any of the ‘Force-mumbo-jumbo’ seriously.

“Can you help us sir?” Rex interjected, shooting a warning look at his brothers.

“The person you should speak to will turn up soon enough, like a bad credit that one is.” Maz said, still holding onto Ahsoka’s face. “Until then, you and your friends are welcome to stay here, there’s a clearing nearby that her ship can land in safely and her sons can stretch their legs quite happily. I doubt many of them have seen trees before.”

Ahsoka was slightly concerned about the amount of information Maz seemed to have, they were hoping to keep Master Shaak and the _vod_ hidden for as long as possible. But there was nothing really she could do about it, except take advantage of Maz’s hospitality while they waited for this person to show up.

“Do we know who this person is Maz?”

Maz let go of her face and all but cackled, “Better than you might think.”

 

* * *

 

 

The blue light of a sabre beckoned them around a final corner, their footsteps all quickened, they were so close! They rounded the corner and stopped, blinking in shock.

Garen was there certainly, but he was not alone. Their friend was surrounded by a group of dirty children dressed in what was once Initiate’s whites, now more grey with dirt and dust than white in colour.

“Garen?” Obi-Wan breathed out, staring at his friend.

There was a silent pause before Garen powered down his sabre and rushed forwards, gathering the four of them close to him.

“I- I- I thought you were dead,” He said, fisting his hands into Obi-Wan and Luminara’s robes. They clung to one another, briefly forgetting the children in front of them.

“Master Kenobi? Master Unduli?” One of the initiates ventured in a tremulous voice, “You came for us?”

They broke away from Garen and Luminara opened her arms to the initiates. There was barley any time between her doing so and her being swarmed by them, each child clinging to the safety her arms represented.

“Our ship is just outside Garen,” Obi-Wan said in a quiet tone, “But we weren’t expecting so many of you. How did this happen, I don’t recall you being assigned to help with the Finding at all?”

Garen shrugged, the movement nearly making him collapse, causing Obi-Wan and Quinlan to rush to prop him up on their shoulders. They began to lead their friend out of the caves system, Bant and Luminara guiding the initiates between them.

“I was en route to Kamino when the purges began, I was lucky in some ways, your message from the Temple prevented me from landing. And then when I was trying to work out what to do next a message came through my ship from master Keeli, she had sent out a distress message from Ilum to all Jedi ships in the vicinity and I guess I was the only one nearby.” Garen began to explain, “Her clan were in the middle of the Finding when Imperials arrived and started trying to destroy their ship. She sent out the message so someone would come and collect her charges and then took off. She drew their fire, allowed them to shoot down her ship so they thought everyone was dead. The initiates had been in the cave system two weeks when I arrived.”

Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged looks, they could hardly imagine what that must have been like, how terrified the initiates must have been, how in the Force they managed to survive for so long without any supplies.

But they didn’t ask Garen any of that, he already looked so exhausted from the brief conversation they’d had that they didn’t have the heart to ask him to extend any more energy on talking to them. They could feel the bones beneath his now-threadbare robes and see the pallor of his skin, none of the initiates looked quite so unhealthy so they guessed that Garen had been giving them whatever supplies they had managed to scrounge to his own detriment.

It was slow going leaving the caves, not because the way out was difficult but because of the pace the initiates and Garen were capable of moving at. When they passed the crystal formation from earlier Obi-Wan flinched but to his relief the apparition of Qui-Gon did not form again.

Quinlan smirked at him as though he knew what he was thinking, and as though he was proud of the telling off he had given the ghost earlier.

When they emerged into the daylight, what little of it there was beneath the heavy clouds, they all blinked heavily and one of the initiates even flinched at the comparatively bright light.

R2-D2 happily greeted them with a chirp when they boarded the ship, informing them that Barriss hadn’t moved while they were gone and that there were no signs of Imperial presence in the solar system. It was welcome news indeed as they moved around the now cramped ship, trying to settle in the initiates and get Garen to the tiny medical bay as well as take off before their luck failed them.

Obi-Wan settled into the pilot’s chair, allowing Quinlan to check up on their prisoner and Bant and Luminara to do the medical checks, for all he hated flying he was aware that he was not needed elsewhere, that this was where he could do the most good for the moment.

He took them out of the atmosphere and into hyperspace as quickly as was safe, the sooner they were all on Tatooine the better. The sooner they were home, the better.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who reads this, you keep me motivated to continue! 
> 
> If you want to talk to me about this or any of my other works find me on tumblr @istricelebelasse


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